Everything Will Be OK    Eventually
by lorrie
Summary: A hectic morning is the least of the Duncan family's worries when an accident leaves P.J. and Teddy injured.
1. Chapter 1

**"****Everything Will Be OK . . . Eventually"**

**Chapter 1 - 'Siblings Argue'**

**Author:** **Lorrie Ellis **

**Email:****lorrieannhotmail**

**Disclaimer:** **The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Good Luck, Charlie". The characters belong to Disney and the creators of the show. but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.) **

The Duncan household was up at its usual hour of 6:45 a.m. "MOM!" A loud shout emitted from the basement bedroom of Teddy. "Tell P.J. to get out of my bathroom!"

Amy Duncan lifted her head from the pillow and let her eyes rest on the alarm clock just as another shout drifted upstairs. "MOM!" Teddy shouted.

Amy lifted her weary body from the bed, shoved her feet into her slippers and padded her way down the hall. "P.J., there's no one in the bathroom up here, why are you bothering your sister while she's trying to get ready for school?"

P.J. stepped out of the bathroom and threw a towel at Teddy as he left her room. "Sorry, sis. Gabe was in the shower and I had to . . . well, I had a good reason for being down here." He took the steps two at a time and made his way back to his bedroom.

"ARRRGGH!" Teddy screamed as she generously sprayed Lysol into her bathroom and turned on the exhaust fan.

Thirty minutes later, P. J., Teddy, and Gabe were at the table, eating their breakfast as Amy came in with Charlie and placed her in her highchair.

"Good morning, Charlie." Teddy cooed at her baby sister.

"Egg." Charlie replied.

Teddy laughed. "I think she wants eggs for breakfast."

Amy stared at her youngest child. "Not this morning, little miss. You're having oatmeal . . . Yum!"

Charlie shook her head and repeated, "Egg."

Amy sat the small bowl of oatmeal on the table and began to feed Charlie. "Egg." Charlie said as she ate.

Amy smiled. "You can have 'egg' tomorrow. Weekends are much easier for eggs." She laughed.

Teddy finished her breakfast and picked up her belongings. She grabbed for the set of car keys that should have been hanging on the hook and retrieved air. "Where are the keys? I'm going to be late!"

"Chill out, sis." P.J. replied. "I'm driving you and Gabe to school this morning."

Teddy shook her head. "No, no, no. This is not going to work. I _have_ to be at the mall after school to help set up for the fundraiser for the dance." She pouted and stated firmly, "I have to have the car today."

P.J. stared at her for a moment. "I _have_ to get to work this afternoon after school, and I _have_ a gig tonight, so you _can't_ have the car. P.J. yelled. They both looked at Amy. "Mom." They said in unison.

"Sorry guys. I'm taking Charlie to the sitters and then I have a double shift, so I have to have my car too." She cleaned Charlie's face. "P.J., make sure you pick Teddy up on time. I don't like her waiting alone at school or at the mall."

"Where's dad this morning?" Gabe interrupted.

"He had to drop the other car by the shop to have it checked out before going in this morning." Amy explained.

Teddy turned to P.J. and stuck her finger in his chest. "OK, you win. You take us to school, but you have to pick me up at 3:00 and drop me at the mall, and then pick me back up at 9:00. Can you do that?"

P.J. moved Teddy's pointing finger aside and prodded both she and Gabe out the door. "Yeah, with my eyes closed." He said sarcastically.

"Let's make sure you keep your eyes open and make sure you're on time." Amy replied. "And Gabe, make sure you take the bus to Mrs. Rockmyer's. Your dad will pick up you and Charlie around 5:00."

"Mom, I'm not going to forget her." P.J. laughed. "At least not on purpose."

Amy gave him a definite 'mom' look. "You'd better not."

"Why is it that you and dad both think I'm so irresponsible?" P.J. mumbled as he headed out the door.

"Have a good day, mom!" Gabe shouted back as he climbed into the backseat of the car.

P.J. eased the car out of the driveway and headed towards Gabe's school.

"Hey, P.J. do you think maybe we can play that new video game tonight?" Gabe asked.

"I don't know, Gabe, we'll see." P.J. said off-handedly. "OK, squirt, here we are. Remember you're getting off the bus at Mrs. Rockmyer's, OK?"

"I know. I know." Gabe replied.

After letting Gabe off, he pulled up in front of the high school to let Teddy out. "I'll be here at 3:00, OK?"

"You'd better be." Teddy scoffed as she watched P.J. drive away to park the car.

"What's up with you, Teddy girl?" Ivy asked as Teddy opened her locker.

Teddy rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I've had the worst morning. The car is on the blink, so dad took it to the shop this morning and P.J. had to drive me and Gabe to school and . . ."

"Whoa, girl we have that thing at the mall this afternoon." Ivy interrupted.

Teddy nodded. "I know. P.J. promised he'd pick me up at 3:00 and take me to the mall, then come back for me around 9:00."

"That's not so bad." Ivy laughed as she pulled her books from her locker.

Teddy smiled. "No, I guess it could be a lot worse."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - '****Unexpected Snow'**

P.J. glanced at his watch. "3:15! Teddy is going to kill me! Mom's gong to kill me!" He pulled off his apron and grabbed his keys. "Mike, I'm taking my break now."

"P.J., you just got here." He looked at P.J., who already had his coat on and his keys in hand. "Oh, ok, just don't be too long."

On his way to the car, P.J. pulled out his cellphone and dialed his sister's number.

"You had better have a very good reason for not being in this parking lot." Teddy answered.

"Well, we got busy and I . . ." He shut the door and fumbled for the keys, dropping the phone in the process. "Listen, Teddy, I'm on my way now. Just stay put."

"Whatever." Teddy replied and closed her phone. _Some day this was turning out to be. _Teddy thought._ But I guess Ivy's right, it's not that bad and what else could possibly happen_. As she made her way to a bench near the parking lot, it started to rain; now rain in itself wasn't so bad, but a cold, Denver rain in February . . . "I'll bet it turns to snow." Teddy thought out loud.

P.J. knew his sister was going to be mad. Not only was he late, but now she was waiting in the rain. He pulled up along side the bench and opened the car door. "Teddy, I'm sorry."

Teddy quietly got in the car and held up her hand. "Just . . . don't say anything." She shut the door and pulled on her seatbelt.

P.J. drove the 15 minute drive in silence. "I promise I'll be here at 9:00 on the dot."

Teddy just nodded her head, saying nothing.

P. J. pulled away and headed back to the restaurant.

"You're late!" Mike barked as P.J. came running inside.

"I'm sorry, Mike. I had to pick up my sister from school and . . ."

"Just get back in the kitchen, we've been pretty busy and I don't have time to discuss this right now. Geez, P.J., you need to show a little responsibility."

P.J. pulled on his apron and went back to work, not giving Teddy another thought.

5:00 p.m.

"Amy Duncan, you have a phone call on line 2." A voice boomed over the intercom at the hospital where Amy worked.

"Amy Duncan." She answered.

"Hey hon, it's me." Bob said.

Amy smiled. "Hey. Where are you?" She asked.

"Amy, I'm stuck in traffic. It's snowing pretty hard and . . ." Bob started.

"Snowing? The forecast wasn't calling for snow today." Amy said, straining her neck to see out the front door of the hospital.

"Honey, the forecasters are human, they do get it wrong sometimes." Bob laughed. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is I'm working a double shift tonight. Charlie and Gabe are at Mrs. Rockmyer's, Teddy's is at the mall until 9:00, and P.J.'s at work."

"OK, well, call P.J. at work and see if he can pick up Charlie and Gabe after he gets Teddy." Bob suggested. "I'm not sure when I'll be in."

"Bob, I don't like him driving in this kind of weather." Amy said softly.

Bob smiled. "Amy, believe it or not, P.J. is a good driver and I'm sure he'll be careful, especially with the other kids in the car."

Amy nodded. "I'll call him . . . and Bob, you be careful too."

"I will honey. I love you."

"Love you too."

Amy hung up the phone and dialed P.J.'s work number. "May I speak with P.J. Duncan?"

"Sure." A voice answered. "P.J., phone!"

"Hello."

Amy explained Bob's situation and P.J. told her that they were closing up early and that he had heard from Teddy that the mall was also closing early because of the expected amounts of snow. "I'll be leaving here in about 30 minutes and going to the mall, and then I'll get Gabe and Charlie."

"P.J., be careful." Amy instructed.

"I will mom."

"I love you." Amy said, but P.J. had already hung up.

He shook his head slightly as he hung up the phone. "Mom's, you gotta love 'em."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – '****Danger Ahead'**

P.J. dialed Teddy's number as he cleaned the snow off of the windshield.

"P.J.?" Teddy answered nervously.

"I'm on my way now. Can you wait for me in the same spot I dropped you off at earlier?" P. J. asked.

"Yeah. I'll be there." She said, nervously. "P.J., you know it's snowing, right?"

"Yeah, mom mentioned that." He laughed as he finished clearing the windshield. "Listen, I'll be there in a few minutes."

P. J. got the heat going in the car, slowly backed out of his parking space and started through the parking lot. He kept it low gear, knowing he would have to stop at the stop sign at the end of the parking lot before pulling onto the main road towards the mall.

As the car inched closer to the stop sign, P.J. gently tapped the brakes. The car slid slightly, and then stopped. "Whoa, this is really slick." Once he was on the main road, he picked up a little speed, but not much. There was little traffic and the snow plows hadn't cleared anything yet.

"Where are the plows when you need 'em?" P.J. asked aloud. He inched off of the road and onto the ramp towards the mall. As he pulled in the parking lot, he saw Teddy standing in the spot he had dropped her off at earlier. He couldn't help but be a bit thankful that he would have someone to talk to now and keep his mind off of the snow, even if it was his sister.

Teddy opened the passenger door. "Hey, how bad are the roads?" She asked as she got in.

"They're slick." P.J. replied. "This is going to be a slow trip home."

Teddy nodded. "Just take your time and make sure we get there in one piece."

P.J., true to his word, took it slow and easy. They were about 20 minutes from Mrs. Rockmyer's home, just entering a sharp curve, when P.J.'s eyes widened at the sight before him. "Teddy, hang on." P.J. said flatly as he pressed his foot on the brake, all the while his eyes never leaving the road. An 18-wheeler was skidding towards them, completely out of control. P.J.'s breath quickened as he realized they were directly in its path. He quickly, without even thinking, slammed the car into reverse. They were almost out of the way when the front bumper of the 18-wheeler clipped the front bumper of their car, sending them spinning, backwards, over an embankment.

Teddy opened her eyes to an eerie quietness. She could only hear the rhythmic clicking of the turn signal, which must have been turned on when they slid down the embankment. She slowly lifted her head and realized that their car was lying on its side, driver's side down. The fog was beginning to lift from her brain. Had she been driving? No, P.J. had, but where was he? "P.J.!" She called out. "P.J., answer me!" Nothing. She turned her head towards the driver's seat and could see P.J.'s still form there. She tried to lift her right arm, but was met with a surge of pain. "Owww!" She cried out and then passed out.

Back up on the road, the 18-wheeler had flipped over, effectively pinning the driver inside, unconscious and no one else was on the road.

P.J. first felt a surge of pain along his left side. He moved his right arm to cradle his ribs and immediately wished he hadn't as a sharp pain moved across both sides of his collar bone. "Oww!" He cried out. "Teddy?" He said softly as he became more aware of his surroundings. He slowly opened his eyes, wishing that he hadn't as his head began to ache. "Teddy, can you hear me?" He asked softly as he tried to lift his head enough to see his sister, but found that he couldn't. "Teddy," he gasped. "I can't move. I need to know that . . . you're OK." He said a little louder.

Teddy began to stir. "P.J.?" She opened her eyes and turned towards him.

"Hey." P.J. answered his voice more of a gasp.

"Hey yourself." She answered. "You're hurt pretty bad, huh?" She picked up her cellphone to call for help, but couldn't get a signal.

P.J. didn't try to move this time. "Yeah, I think so. It hurts to breathe." He paused. "You OK?"

Teddy nodded. "I think my arm's broken, but other than that, I think I'm OK."

"Good." P.J. winced as another pain ran along his side. "Have you called for help?" He asked.

"I've tried, but I can't get a signal down here." She answered.

P.J. closed his eyes tightly and tried to will the pain in his head to go away. "Can you . . . get out of the car?" He asked between breaths.

Teddy shook her head slightly. "I don't know. I haven't tried. P.J., I won't just leave you down here."

"You're going to . . . have to . . . get back up on the road . . . to get a signal. Teddy, please." His voice broke as he spoke. "You have to . . . have to try to get out. My legs are pinned to the seat . . . and its getting harder to breathe. Please!" P.J. pleaded with his sister. _I need her out of the car. I don't want her to see me like this, I have to be responsible. I have to get her out of here._

Teddy tried the door with her left hand and found that it opened pretty easily. "P.J., it may take a while for me to climb up, if I can at all."

"Kay." P.J. said, closing his eyes.

"Don't you dare go to sleep!" Teddy shouted. "P.J.!" She called out to him only to realize that he had passed out again. She stared up towards the top of the embankment. It looked to be about 20 feet, but it may as well have been 200 for a one handed climber. This was not going to be easy.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – 'Realization'**

"Amy Duncan, you have a call on line 3." The intercom blared.

Amy picked up the nearest phone. "Amy Duncan." She answered.

"Amy, its Sharon Rockmyer. Honey, I don't mind feeding Gabe and Charlie, but I thought P.J. and Teddy were supposed to have picked them up earlier."

Amy felt as thought she'd been physically hit in the stomach. "P.J. hasn't been by yet?"

"No." Mrs. Rockmyer realized she had upset Amy. "Honey, I'm sure it's nothing. Traffic is just moving slow because of the snow."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure that's it." Amy looked at her watch; it was almost 6:30 p.m. "Mrs. Rockmyer, would you mind if Gabe and Charlie had dinner with you? I'll call P.J. and Teddy and see what the hold up is."

"That's fine, dear."

After hanging up the phone, Amy pulled out her cell and dialed P.J.'s phone. "The mobile unit you are trying to dial is out of . . ."

"Shoot." Amy said and tried Teddy's phone. "The mobile unit you are trying to dial is out of . . ." she then called Ivy's house.

"Hello."

"Ivy, its Amy Duncan. Is Teddy with you?" Amy asked.

"No. She last texted me at around 5:30 and said P.J. was pulling up then. She isn't home yet?" Ivy replied, beginning to worry.

"Home, I haven't tried home. Thanks Ivy. I'll have her get in touch with you later."

Amy frantically dialed her home number. The phone rang 10 times, no answer. She hung up, close to tears now and dialed Bob.

"Hello." Bob answered.

"Bob, where are you?" Amy asked.

"I'm almost home. What's going on, you sound upset?"

"I can't find P.J. and Teddy. They never made it to Mrs. Rockmyer's." Amy said quickly.

"OK honey, calm down. Maybe they had car trouble." Bob reasoned.

"They have their phones with them and I can't get through to either of them."

**Back at the scene of the accident:**

Teddy frantically grabbed at a branch hanging over the edge of the embankment with her left hand. "Ahh!" She cried out when she finally reached it and pulled herself up and over.

She immediately pulled out her phone, thankful for a signal, and dialed 9-1-1. Once she was certain that help was on the way, she called Amy.

**At the hospital:**

"Amy, I'm sure they're fine, they probably just . . ." Bob started.

"Bob, hold on, I'm getting a call. It's Teddy!" Amy cried out.

"Teddy, where are you?" She answered and felt her knees buckle as Teddy told her about the accident.

"Teddy, hold on. Your dad is on the other line." Amy put Teddy on hold and picked up Bob.

"They've had a wreck, Bob. Teddy's hurt and she said P.J. is unconscious at the bottom of an embankment!"

"Where?" Bob asked, a father's worry getting the best of him.

Amy told him the information Teddy had given her. "Bob, they're only a few minutes from the house, you're much closer than I am and . . ."

"Amy, just hang on. I'll get them and we'll meet you at the hospital."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter ****5 – 'Rescue'**

Bob slowed his truck down as he reached the curve Amy had described on Route 73. His mouth dropped when he saw the 18-wheeler on its side and then saw Teddy flagging him down.

He slammed the truck into 'Park' and ran to meet her. "Teddy!"

"Daddy!" She shouted as Bob grabbed her into a tight embrace.

"Are you hurt?" Bob asked as he pushed her back, just at arm's length, and checked her over from head to toe, taking note of the cut on her forehead.

Teddy nodded. "I'm pretty sure my arm is broken. Dad, P.J.'s still down there." She pointed down the embankment. "I've called 9-1-1."

Bob smiled as he coaxed his daughter into the truck. "Good girl, come on, get in the truck, it's warmer in there." As soon as they were both in, Bob pulled closer to the edge of the embankment, hoping to focus the light from his headlights on the car below. "You stay here." He instructed as he grabbed his flashlight and stepped out of the truck.

"Dad," she called out. "Be careful."

"I will honey. Just stay put until help gets here."

Teddy nodded and watched as Bob made his way down the steep embankment to the wrecked vehicle.

"P.J." Bob called out as he neared the car. His stomach was in knots, not knowing if he would find his son dead or alive. "Paul James!" He called out again.

The car was turned on its side, driver's side down, leaning heavily against a tree. Bob made his way to the driver's side and knelt on the ground, trying to get a look at his son. "P.J.!" He shouted. His breath caught at the sight of blood on the windshield and side glass. He started to climb onto the upturned side of the car, all the while wondering exactly how Teddy had managed to climb out with only one good arm. "I'm coming, son!" Bob shouted.

The EMT truck stopped just short of Bob's truck and four EMTs got out, one running towards the 18-wheeler, one towards Teddy and two towards the embankment. Teddy opened the door to get out, but was gently helped back in by one of the EMT's. "Just stay right there, miss."

"I was in the car that's at the bottom of the embankment. My brother's still in there and my dad is trying to get to him." Teddy said calmly.

The EMT nodded. "My name is John, are you alright?" He pulled out his penlight and checked her eyes and the cut on her head.

Teddy's gave drifted down to her arm. "I, I think my arm is broken."

John called out to the EMT that had checked on the driver of the 18-wheeler and asked for a splint. "What's your name?" John asked.

"Teddy. Teddy Duncan."

"Ok, Teddy Duncan, this might hurt a bit." He gently lifted her arm and put the splint in place.

"Is she OK, John?"

"Yeah Jim, she's a bit banged up and has a broken arm. What about him?" He gestured towards the 18-wheeler.

Jim shook his head. "Looks like he may have had a heart attack. He had a bottle of _Nitro_ pills in his hand."

"What are they doing?" Teddy asked as the other two EMTs disappeared over the embankment.

"That's David and Katie; they're going to help your brother. Teddy, you and I are going to stay right here, okay?"

Teddy realized she was glad to not have to be alone. "OK." She said softly. "Thanks."

"I'm going to see what I can do to help, unless you need me here." Jim stated.

John shook his head. "We're good. They're probably gonna need you."

The accident scene was suddenly eliminated by many bright lights. "Sir, you have to move!" One of the EMTs shouted to Bob.

"That's my son in there." Bob shouted back.

"I understand, Mr., uh Mr.?"

"Duncan. Bob Duncan." Bob allowed himself to be assisted from the upturned car.

"Mr. Duncan, what's your son's name?"

"P.J., Paul James, we call him P.J." Bob said through the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I'm David." The EMT extended his hand. "We're going to get P.J. out and we need you to stay back, OK?"

Bob nodded. "My daughter . . ."

David nodded. "John is with her. She's going to be fine."

Bob nodded and took security in knowing at least Teddy was safe. He dropped his head as he thought of P.J., desperately wanting to hear his voice. "Arggh!" A blood-curdling scream emitted from the vehicle, as David tried to move the pinned boy.

"His legs are pinned, we're gonna need the 'Jaws of Life' to get him out of here, also bring down a cervical collar and back board." The EMT shouted.

David scrambled back up the embankment to grab the equipment.

"P.J." Bob called out.

"Dad." P.J. whimpered.

David called out from inside the car where he sat, his hand resting on P.J.'s chest, preventing him from trying to move. "Mr. Duncan, come around to the front of the car where he can see you. It might help calm him down. He's going into shock."

Bob knew what that meant, he had heard stories from Amy too many time about victims being brought into the hospital who had gone into shock. It played havoc with their bodies. He ran to the front of the car and caught sight of the fear in P.J.'s eyes. "It's going to be OK, son." He said through the glass. He longed to touch P.J.'s face, or ruffle his hair in reassurance. He could see the tears rolling down P.J.'s face. "How is he?" Bob asked the EMT.

The EMT locked eyes with Bob. "We need to get him out of here. He has a pretty bad concussion, and the way he's breathing right now, I think he has a pneumothorax, probably caused by a broken rib and those are just the highlights. I'm pretty sure he has a broken collar bone, left arm, and some bad bruising from the seatbelt."

"Well, then get him out of there!" Bob shouted.

"I'm trying, Mr. Duncan. His legs are pinned down by the dashboard. We need the 'Jaws of Life' to force the car apart."

Bob was suddenly hit with the reality of the situation. P.J. was possibly drowning in his own blood and there nothing he, his father, could do to save him. He noticed P.J.'s eyes had closed and his breathing was coming in gurgling sounds.

Jim came through with a piece of equipment, "You'll have to move again, Mr. Duncan." He said as he prepared to crank the 'Jaws'.

Bob shook his head. "No. I'll stay out of your way, but I'm not leaving his sight."

David called out to Jim. "Let him stay. P.J.'s blood pressure is looking a little better now. I think that knowing his dad is here is helping."

Jim nodded and began to cut away the dash. "Arggh!" P.J. cried out and then slumped in the seat.

"Stop, stop, stop!" David called out. "Shoot, get me a tourniquet, now!" He shouted.

Katie passed David a tourniquet. "What happened?"

"He's got a bad cut on his leg. The dash was holding pressure on it. We've got to get the bleeding stopped or he's going to bleed out right here." David applied the tourniquet to P.J. bleeding leg.

Bob moved towards the car and watched as David and Katie slipped the cervical collar around his son's neck, placed him on the backboard and lifted P.J. out. "Get the gurney; we're going to have to really punch it to get him to the hospital. Call ahead so they can have a surgical team on hand. I think it's a femoral artery laceration."

Bob's face went white. "His mom, my wife Amy, is a nurse at Community General. I need to call her and let her know what's going on before you bring him in."

"There's not going to be enough room for you and your daughter to ride with us. Can you drive?" David stated as John and Katie climbed up the embankment and pulled P.J.'s gurney up.

Bob nodded. "I think so." As Bob headed towards the truck, his knees nearly gave way.

David gave Bob's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Call your wife." He stated as he climbed into the EMT truck. "John, why don't you drive Mr. Duncan and his daughter to the hospital?"

"Is that OK with you, Mr. Duncan?" John asked.

Bob handed the young EMT his keys and pulled out his cell to make a call that he dreaded more than anything. "Amy Duncan, please."

"Amy Duncan speaking."

"They're bringing P.J. in now and I've got Teddy with me." Bob said flatly.

"How bad are they?" Amy asked.

"Teddy has a broken arm and P.J. . . ." he took a deep breath. "Amy, he's bad. He has a concussion, broken bones, a pneumothorax, that's a punctured lung, right, and . . . he's lost a lot of blood." Bob's voice nearly broke as he explained their son's injuries.

"He's why the surgical team is on standby." Amy said quietly, as tears made their way down her face.

Bob closed his eyes. "Yes. Amy, there's a laceration to his femoral artery, and he's . . . there was a lot of blood . . . and he . . ." Bob couldn't go on and was thankful to be in the backseat of the King cab truck where Teddy couldn't see him.

Teddy may have not been able to see her dad, but she could hear him. _"Punctured lung . . . lacerated femoral artery, lost a lot of blood."_ These words continued to circle around in her head; _"I __have__ to be at the mall at 3:00 and you'll __have__ to pick me up by 9:00." "Why are you always so irresponsible?" _She shook her head, trying to shake away the memories of this morning._" _He shouldn't have been out here." Teddy thought as her eyes peered out the window of the truck. It was still snowing.

"Hey, Teddy." John nudged her slightly. "We're here."

She slowly looked around until her eyes met John's. "Where's my brother?" She asked.

"They've already taken him in. You won't be able to see him until he's out of surgery." John said truthfully. "Let's go get your arm checked out." She allowed him to help her out of the truck and into the Emergency Room.

"Teddy!" Amy exclaimed as she met her daughter at the main desk. Her eyes met John's as she engulfed her daughter in a hug. "Thank you." She mouthed to John as she turned Teddy towards the examination rooms.

"Your welcome." John replied to Amy's back as he watched the mother and daughter until they rounded the corner out of his sight.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter ****6 – 'Waiting'**

Amy yawned as she, Bob, and Teddy sat in the waiting room. "Teddy, you need to get some rest, maybe I can get someone to take you home." Amy said as she stroked her daughter's hair.

Teddy shook her head. "You said it yourself; no one has any business out in this mess. I'm not leaving, especially until we know more about P.J."

Amy glanced at the clock. P.J. had now been in surgery for nearly three hours. "I'm going to check and see if I can find out anything." She stood and started to leave the waiting area, only to be met by Doctor Allen.

"Amy, why don't we all step into my office?" Doctor Andrea Allen was in her early thirties and an excellent surgeon, probably one of the top in the state, definitely the top in this hospital.

As soon as the door closed, Amy started asking questions. "How is he? He is alive, right? How much blood did he lose? How . . ."

"If you'll all have a seat I'll tell you all everything I know." Dr. Allen waited for Amy to take a seat. "Now, P.J. is stable and in recovery. He did, indeed, have a pneumothorax, he has two broken ribs, one of which had punctured his lung. He also has a broken collar bone and badly bruised left shoulder blade, along with a pretty bad concussion and a lacerated femoral artery." She paused while the family absorbed the information. "Although he is stable now," she paused, "we lost him once during surgery."

Amy's hand went to her mouth and she closed her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks. Bob grasped her hand and Teddy's.

"But he's going to be OK, right?" Teddy asked quietly.

"P.J. lost a lot of blood. We had to give him four units during surgery and he's taking another now." Dr. Allen replied. "I am cautiously optimistic that P.J. will make a full recovery, given time."

Amy's head shot up. "Cautiously optimistic," she shouted. "I'm a nurse here, Doctor Allen. I know that's the term you give families when you really don't have a clue whether the patient is going to live or die. This time that patient is my son! I want answers, Doctor, not rhetoric! I want confirmation that P.J. is out of danger! I want . . ." She sobbed as Bob tried to pull her into an embrace. She pushed him away. "I want my son back." She said softly.

"Amy, that's our goal; to get P.J. back to you, whole, as soon as physically possible." Dr. Allen stated.

"Can we see him?" Teddy asked.

"Let's wait until they have him in a room. He should be in Recovery for another ½ hour or so. In the meantime, Teddy, have you had any rest?" The doctor asked.

Teddy shook her head. "No. I want to see P.J. before I even think about sleeping."

"You all need to rest. P.J. is going to need all of you to get through this. He's been through quite an ordeal." The doctor stood. "You can stay in here for a few minutes until you're ready to go back to the waiting area. I'll have someone come for you when P.J. is in a room."

Amy nodded. "Thank you, Doctor Allen and I apologize for the outburst."

The doctor smiled and squeezed Amy's hand. "It's understandable." She then turned and left her office.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter ****7 – 'Waking Up and Facing Fears'**

P.J. felt cold air around him. He tried to open his eyes, but they were so heavy. _Wonder where I am_? His mind wondered. _This must be heaven, but why is it so cold? Guess that's better than being too hot. Ooo, yeah, right, the other place is hot. Guess this is heaven then._

"P.J., Paul James." A male voice he didn't recognize called out. "P.J. Duncan, you need to wake up." The voice was a bit more forceful.

P.J. tried again to open his eyes, but didn't seem to have the energy. _I wish they'd just leave me alone. _He thought.

He felt first one eyelid and then the other being lifted up and then saw a bright light that made him try to pull his eyelid from the grasp of the unknown hand. "Both pupils are equal and reactive." The voice said. P.J. then felt an object against the sole of his foot, first his right, which made his leg recoil and then his left, which tried to recoil, but seemed to be held firmly in place. "Good, he's receptive to stimuli. There is no nerve damage to his lower extremities." The doctor took P.J.'s wrist and checked his pulse. "P.J., open your eyes." The voice commanded again.

_Is that God? __If that was God and this was heaven, I shouldn't be hurting, right? _P.J.'s eyes opened slightly.

"That's it. Your mom, dad and sister are waiting to see you, but we have to get you settled in a room first." The voice said.

"P.J., come on, honey, open your eyes. Before we move you, we have to know that you're awake and stable." A female voice said softly. "My name is Sarah. I work here in the hospital with your mom. She, your dad, and your sister, Teddy, are all very worried about you.

_Hospital__, not heaven . . . what happened? _P.J.'s mind went back to the accident. _Oh yeah, right, the snow, the truck, we wrecked . . . we, _"Teddy!" He cried out as his eyes shot open.

Sarah held him firmly to the bed. "Whoa there, tiger; I'm glad you're awake, but you need to be still or you'll pop all of your stitches."

"Stitches?" P.J. asked. His mouth was very dry and he tried to pull in some moisture, but there was none.

Sarah nodded her head as she gave P.J. a spoonful of ice chips. "There, that should help with the sore throat and dry mouth.

"Hurts." P.J. said as after the ice melted in his mouth.

Sarah nodded as she brushed a stray strand of hair from P.J. forehead. "I know. You had a ventilation tube down your throat while you were in surgery."

"Surgery?" P.J. asked, his eyes widening.

"We're going to move you to private room now and Dr. Allen will be in to explain everything to you in a little while, OK?" Sarah smiled.

P.J. nodded.

Minutes later, after a dizzying trip from the 7th floor to the 3rd, P.J. was lifted from one bed and transferred to another. He bit his lip to keep from crying out when the orderlies laid him down.

"Hi, P.J., my name is Emily and I'll be your nurse until my shift is over at nine tonight. How are you feeling?"

A tear ran down P.J.'s cheek. "Hurts." His breath shuddered from the pain.

Emily nodded, "well, let's take care of that right now. She pulled a syringe from her pocket and pushed it into P.J.'s IV line. "There, that should help." She patted his right leg and waited until he was breathing a little easier. "Better?" She asked.

P.J. nodded and furrowed his brow. "What are those?" He asked as she moved towards him with four tiny patches.

"These?" She pointed towards the white disks. "These are going to help us keep an eye on your vital signs." She smoothed the sticky disks onto P.J.'s chest. "This is attached to a heart monitor and this one," she pointed to another machine, "this is going to keep track of your blood pressure." She put a BP cuff around his upper right arm. "How's that?" She asked.

"OK." He yawned.

Emily smiled. "I know you're tired and you do need to rest, but your family has been waiting for quite a while to see you. Can you hold out for a few more minutes?" She asked.

P.J. nodded as the door opened and his mom, dad, and Teddy came inside. Amy gasped when she saw him and rushed to him. "Oh, my poor baby." She cooed as she gently kissed his forehead.

P.J. smiled slightly. "Hey mom." He mumbled, his speech slightly slurred. Amy anxiously looked back to the nurse for an explanation.

"Meds." Emily stated.

Amy nodded. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"Tired. Sore." He replied.

Amy could feel the tears forming in her eyes. They didn't go unnoticed by P.J. "Mom, what's wrong? I'm OK, right?"

Amy nodded. "Yes, you're OK. You and Teddy are both OK and I am just SO thankful for that."

Bob took P.J.'s right hand. "You gave me quite a scare back there, buddy." He said.

"Hey dad. Sorry." P.J. moved his head slightly until Teddy came into view. "Hey." He said softly.

Teddy tried to smile. "Hey." She made her way closer to the bed. "You look awful."

"You don't look so great yourself." He replied quietly. "You OK?"

She pursed her lips together, trying hard not to cry. "Yeah," she lifted her eyebrows slightly. "I, uh, I broke my arm." She lifted her casted right arm.

"I remember." P.J. replied. "How did you get back up the embankment one handed?" He asked.

Teddy shook her head. "I don't really know. I . . . I just knew I had to get help and . . ." She began to cry. Amy patted her back in support. "I thought you were going to die, P.J."

P.J. closed his eyes. "Well, I didn't. I'm still here."

Teddy pulled away from her mom and made her way to P.J.'s bedside. "I'm glad you're still here." She smiled and took his hand.

Everyone turned as the door opened and Dr. Allen stepped into the room. "Well, P.J., it's good to see you awake."

"Thanks." P.J. replied and then yawned.

Dr. Allen smiled. "I know you're all tired, so I'll keep this brief. I want to let P.J. know the extent of his injuries and what to expect. Is that OK?" She looked at Teddy, then back at Amy and Bob.

Amy nodded. "Yes. I think I could use a recap too."

Dr. Allen nodded. "OK. Well, P.J., you're a very lucky young man to have survived everything you've been through. I'm going to start with the worst of it. You had a lacerated left femoral artery when you were brought in and the bleeding was not totally under control. The EMT report stated that the dash pinned your legs to the seat, this effectively stemmed the blood flow . . . until they freed you from the car, then you began to bleed out from your leg. We were able to repair the damage. You have a lot of stitches in your leg, both internal and external. We will be watching closely for any signs of infection."

The doctor paused to allow that first bit of information to settle in. "We have you on a heart monitor to make sure we don't have any issues like we ran into during surgery." She looked at Bob and Amy.

"What kind of issues?" P.J. asked.

Amy took his hand. "Honey," she paused. "Your heart stopped during surgery."

P.J.'s eyes widened. "Why?" He asked with fear in his voice. "Will it happen again?"

Dr. Allen shook her head. "No, no, no. Your heart stopped because of the amount of blood you had lost. We've you about four units of blood since you came in and your heart is as strong as ever now."

"Then why the monitor?" P.J. asked, calming slightly.

"Just to be sure nothing goes wrong." The doctor answered. "Now, you also have a concussion. It's not as severe as we originally thought, but you are going to have a headache for a while. Please let us know before the pain gets to a point you can't tolerate."

"OK." P.J. said softly.

"You had what we call a pneumothorax when you were brought in. That's when your lung has been punctured with something, in your case, a broken rib. You have two broken ribs on your left side, but only one punctured the lung. We were able to repair it and set your ribs with no problems."

"So that's why it hurt so much to breathe?" P.J. asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but you're fine now." She said. "In addition to these more serious injuries, you have a broken left arm, left clavicle, and a badly bruised shoulder blade." She looked towards the nurse. "Did I leave anything out, Emily?"

Emily replied, "just the residual bruising from the seatbelt."

"Yes, and that will heal with time. Do any of you have any questions?" The doctor asked.

"How long with P.J. be in the hospital?" Teddy asked.

Dr. Allen smiled. "That depends on how quickly he recovers. We'll need to keep an eye on his leg and lung to make sure infection doesn't set in; but I'm guessing maybe a week to 10 days, possibly less if he heals quickly."

"A week to 10 days?" P.J. groaned. "I hate hospitals."

Dr. Allen smiled again. "We'll make you as comfortable as possible, P.J. Right now, I'm going to leave so your family can say their goodbyes for now. You need your rest."

"P.J., I'll be back in just a minute." Amy said as she followed Dr. Allen out the door.

"Doctor, can one of us stay with him?"

Dr. Allen shook her head. "Amy, you're all beat. You need some rest and so does P.J." She saw the near defeat in Amy's face. "I'll tell you what, go home tonight, get some rest and we'll talk about it again tomorrow."

Amy nodded. "Thank you."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter ****8 - 'Recovery and Rest"**

Amy, Bob, and Teddy said hugged P.J. and said their goodbyes, then reluctantly left the hospital and headed home. It had finally stopped snowing during the early hours of the morning and the roads had now been cleared. "Don't forget to stop by Mrs. Rockmyer's to get Gabe and Charlie." Amy suggested.

Bob nodded. "I know."

As they pulled into Mrs. Rockmyer's driveway, Gabe rocketed out of the house. "Where's P.J.?" He asked, frantically. "Teddy, your arm?" He stared at Teddy's cast and then into his big sister's eyes. "Where is P.J.?" He asked firmly.

Teddy placed her good hand on Gabe's shoulder. "I'm OK, Gabe, and so is P.J. He's in the hospital and will be for a while, but he's OK, I promise."

Gabe looked to his mom and dad for reassurance. "She's right, Gabe. He's going to be fine." Bob stated.

Gabe nodded. "How bad is he hurt?"

Teddy nudged him back towards Mrs. Rockmyer's house. "Let's talk about it later, OK?" She wrapped her arm around her little brother, "where's Charlie?"

"She's eating another egg." Gabe said flatly.

After rounding up their things, Amy pulled Mrs. Rockmyer aside. "Sharon, how much do I owe you?"

Mrs. Rockmyer shook her head. "I was glad to do it." She paused, "how is P.J. and how long will he be in the hospital?"

Amy lowered her head. "He's stable. They're keeping him to control his pain and to watch for infection." She watched as Charlie pulled her blankie from her bag. "We had better get these kids home. I'll call you later and tell you more."

Mrs. Rockmyer nodded. "I understand, and if you need me to watch the kids again, just let me know."

"Thank you."

When the Duncan's entered the house, everyone was quiet. Charlie even sensed something wasn't quite right. She clung to Bob and then looked at his face. "Where P.J.?" She asked.

Upon hearing the innocent voice of her youngest child, Amy burst into tears and ran to her and Bob's bedroom.

Bob thrust Charlie towards Teddy. "Teddy, take your sister."

Teddy scrambled to hold onto Charlie with her one good arm. "Gabe, can you give me a hand here?" She asked.

Gabe took Charlie and sat her down on the floor and then turned to Teddy. "He's not OK, is he?"

Teddy sat down on the couch, pulling Gabe down beside of her. "Gabe, he's hurt and it's going to take time for him to heal, but he is going to be OK."

"Then why is mom crying?" Gabe asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "I may be the youngest," he glanced down at Charlie, "OK, second youngest in this family, but that doesn't mean that you can lie to me, especially about my brother."

Bob knocked on the bedroom door. "Amy, can I come in?" He heard her sob and try to compose herself before he entered. He found her sitting on the side of the bed, holding a copy of their latest family portrait. "Why is this happening, Bob? Why our son?"

Bob wrapped his arms around his wife. "Honey, we should be counting our blessings that he didn't die. I know its hard to see him hurting. I was at the wreck when they tried to take him out of the car before realizing his legs were pinned so tightly. He . . ." Bob paused, he hadn't planned to share this with Amy.

"He what?" She sniffled.

Bob recounted that moment in his mind. He could see the wreck, and could hear the agonizing scream from his son.

"He what, Bob?" Amy asked. "Tell me."

Bob dropped his head. "He screamed, Amy." Bob shook his head slowly and brought both hands to his face. "It was the most agonizing scream I've ever heard and I can't get it out of my head."

The couple sat on the bed, holding each other for quite a while before a knock on the door interrupted. "Yes." Amy answered, wiping her tears.

"I don't think Teddy feels too good." Gabe announced as he watched Teddy wince when Charlie pulled on her broken arm.

"Teddy!" Amy exclaimed. "I've been so worried about P.J., that I hadn't even . . . " Amy looked at her watch. "Oh my gosh, she hasn't had her pain medication."

"I've got it." Bob said as he got up.

Amy rushed past him. "No! I have to be the one! I have to get it! What kind of a mother would I be if I can't take care of my children?"

Bob followed Amy, very confused by her behavior. "Teddy?" She squatted down in front of the teen. "Honey, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I forgot your pain meds. Give me just a minute and I'll bring them to you."

"It's OK, mom. Charlie just pulled on it a bit. It's not that bad." Teddy replied as she watched Amy frantically run off into the kitchen.

"Mom?" Teddy said softly as she entered the kitchen. "Mom," she repeated, taking Amy's hand. "He's going to be OK and I'm OK. Let it go."

Amy pulled Teddy into a hug and began to cry.

"Come on, mom. You're just tired. I'll watch Charlie while you and dad get some sleep." Teddy offered.

Amy shook her head. "No. You need to take your pain pills and get some sleep. You've been up just as long as I have and you're injured."

Bob overheard the conversation in the kitchen and opened the door. "You're both going to get some sleep. Teddy, go ahead and take your pain pills. I don't want you hurting when you don't have to, and Amy, I've started a nice, warm bath for you, why don't you go ahead and take a long soak and then go to bed. I've got Charlie and Gabe."

"Thanks dad." Teddy said as she swallowed her pills with a glass of water and started downstairs. "I love you." She called out.

"Love you too, sweetheart." Bob replied.

"I love you, Teddy." Amy replied.

"Now, how about that bath?" Bob asked.

Amy smiled. "You always seem to know exactly what I need, don't you?" She gave him a hug and a kiss and headed towards the bathroom.

"Alright guys, it's just you and me. What would you like to do?" Bob asked as he sat down on the couch with Gabe and Charlie.

Charlie picked up the remote. "Elmo." She stated.

Bob laughed. "Well, Elmo it is."

Downstairs in the sanctity of her room, Teddy propped up the pillows on her bed and laid down with her cellphone. She dialed Ivy.

"Where have you been, girl. I've called your house like two dozen times and no one answered. What is going on?" Ivy answered.

"Hey. I don't know exactly where to begin. P.J.'s in the hospital." She felt tears stinging her eyes as she mentioned her brother. "Ivy, we wrecked. It was awful."

Ivy was trying to absorb everything her best friend was telling her. "I'll come right over."

"No, not yet." Teddy replied. "I just took my pain pills and I'm sure they'll knock me out in a bit and mom has gone to bed too, so thanks, but not just yet, OK?"

"Whatever you need, girlfriend." Ivy replied. "Wait, what do you need pain pills for?"

"I broke my arm." Teddy replied.

"Oh Teddy. I'm sorry." Ivy empathized. "What can I do?"

"Like I said, nothing right now, but dad is watching Gabe and Charlie and he may need some help later on . . ."

"Say no more. Ivy will be there."

"Thanks, Ivy." Teddy yawned.

Ivy paused, not knowing quite what to say. Teddy still hadn't told her how badly P.J. was hurt and she knew she couldn't push her right now. "Teddy, why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep?"

Teddy nodded. "I think I will. I'll talk to you a little later, OK?"

"Goodnight."

"Night." Teddy replied, turned off her phone and fell into a troubled sleep.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter ****9 - 'Home without P.J."**

Amy was awakened by a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. "Bob?" She questioned as she got up and walked down the hallway towards the wonderful aroma. "Bob, are you cooking?" She opened the kitchen door to find Ivy and her mom, Mary Lou, preparing dinner.

"Oh, Amy, did we wake you?" Mary Lou exclaimed as Amy came in the kitchen.

Amy shook her head. "No, no you didn't, but what are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Well, Ivy was talking to Teddy and she told her that P.J. had wrecked and was in the hospital and Amy, honestly, I never know what to do for people in times like these, except, well . . . cook. I love to cook and you good people need to eat." Mary Lou explained.

Amy smiled at her friend and engulfed her in a hug. "Thank you, Mary Lou. Thank you so much."

"How is P.J.?" Ivy asked. "Teddy was sleepy and really didn't tell me much."

Amy sat down at the kitchen table. "Well, he was injured pretty badly." She went on to explain the details of P.J.'s injuries and then glanced at her watch. "Ooo, I'd better call the hospital and check on him."

Bob caught her as she was getting up from the table. "Easy there. I've already called. He's still asleep, but his vitals are great. Amy, he's fine."

"When can we see him?" Amy asked.

"Visiting hours are over at 8:00 tonight." Bob replied.

Amy looked bewildered. "Well what are we waiting for?" She sat her coffee cup down.

Bob stood quietly and laid his hands firmly on Amy's shoulders. "They're pretty sure he's going to sleep most of the day."

Amy shook her head. "I don't care if he's sleeping. I'll watch him sleep. Bob, I have to be there."

Bob guided her to the couch and sat down beside her. "Amy, he's fine." He smoothed her hair. "You know that, right?"

She nodded. "I know. I just need to see him. I need to hold him and feel him breathing." Fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

Bob pulled her close to him. "I know, honey. I feel it too. We came too close to losing him."

Gabe bounded down the stairs. "Did I hear someone say something about going to the hospital? That's great!" Gabe exclaimed as he joined his parents. "Believe it or not, I actually miss P.J."

"Uh, Gabe," Bob started. "About that," he paused. "With the recent N1H1 breakouts, the hospital isn't letting any visitors under 16 in." He stared at his son. "You and Charlie won't be able to see P.J. until he comes home."

Tears were forming in Gabe's eyes. "That's not fair!" He shouted and left the kitchen.

Bob ran after Gabe, only to have his bedroom door slammed in his face. Bob knocked and turned the doorknob at the same time. "Gabe, son, I know this isn't fair to you, but it is the hospital's rule and it's to keep you safe and even to keep P.J. safe."

Gabe lay on his stomach across his bed. "How?" He asked.

"Well, it keeps you safe because children are sometimes for susceptible to germs and with H1N1 present in the hospital, it's better for kids like you and Charlie to stay out. And as for P.J., he has a deep cut on his leg. It's very important that the cut stays clean and germ-free."

Gabe sat up and wiped his face. "He has a cut on his leg?" He asked. "What else?"

Bob's eyes locked with Gabe's. He knew in some ways his son needed to know P.J.'s injuries, but he wasn't completely sure he was ready to hear them. He put his hand on Gabe's shoulder. "P.J. also had a punctured lung; he has two broken ribs, a broken arm, broken collar bone, and a concussion."

Gabe's mouth dropped. "But he's OK?"

Bob nodded. "He should be home in a week to 10 days." He could tell that answer didn't set well with his youngest son. "I tell you what. As soon as P.J. is up to it, you can talk to him on the phone."

Gabe's face lit up. "Really? When?"

Bob held his hands up in defense. "I don't know yet, Gabe. Wait until he's a little stronger and we'll see, OK?"

Gabe nodded. "Thanks, dad."

Teddy was sitting in the kitchen when Bob returned. "Did you get any sleep?" He asked.

Teddy smiled and nodded. "I feel pretty good. When are we going to see P.J.?"

Amy, who was now dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, looked at her daughter. "About that, would you mind if just your dad and I went today?"

"No, that's fine. He probably doesn't need too many people around anyway." She replied and turned away from her parents.

"You're upset." Bob stated.

Teddy shook her head. "No, not really, it's just . . ."

Amy sat down across from Teddy, reached across the table and took her hand. "It's just what, honey?"

Teddy looked down as she spoke. "It's just . . . don't you get it? It's my fault P.J. was out there on the road." Large tears fell as she continued. "If he hadn't have had to come to the mall to get me, he wouldn't have been in the path of that truck, and he wouldn't be in the hospital right now."

Amy stood up and pulled Teddy into a hug. "Honey, this is in no way your fault. It wasn't even supposed to snow, let alone be as treacherous as it was."

Teddy shook her head. "How can P.J. ever forgive me?" She sniffled.

"Teddy, your brother loves you. I'm sure he doesn't blame you for this." Bob said as he made himself a BBQ sandwich. "Where did Ivy and Mary Lou go?"

Teddy pulled away from her mom. "They said they would come back later. I think I'll stay here with Gabe and Charlie and maybe call Ivy to come over, if that's OK?"

"I think that's a good idea." Amy said as she kissed Teddy's forehead. "And stop blaming yourself.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"**Up and About"**

"Good afternoon, P.J." Nurse Emily announced as she entered the room, noting that P.J. was awake.

"Afternoon?'" P.J. asked, rubbing his eyes.

Emily checked the young man's vital signs and his IV line. "Looks like we're going to have you up and about for awhile." She stated, watching P.J.'s reaction.

"Really?" P.J. asked.

Emily nodded. "Yes, really. Just a short trip to the bathroom and back, but none-the-less, you'll be up and out of bed." She made a notation in his chart. "If all goes well, we may even let you sit up for awhile."

P.J. smiled. "That would be great. I'm really tired of lying around."

"It's only been a couple of days, P.J." Nurse Emily reminded him. "You are going to have to take things slow and easy for a while. Give your body time to catch up, OK?"

P. J. nodded. "I know."

Emily smiled and placed the chart on the table near the bed. "Are you ready?"

"I guess."

"OK, here's what you're going to do." She explained exactly what she wanted him to do to now overexert himself, or pop any of his stitches. Soon P.J. was sitting on the edge of the bed. "That's great, P.J.! You're up! Are you lightheaded?"

P.J. shook his head. "No. Can we try the floor?" He asked.

"Slow down. Let's just sit right here for a minute and make sure you're not going to pass out on me." Emily stayed close by and kept a careful watch on her young patient. "OK, let's see if we can get you into this wheelchair." She pulled the chair close by the bed and helped P.J. to his feet.

P.J. grimaced slightly as he feet touched the floor, but then eased himself into the wheelchair.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked as she unlocked the wheels.

P.J. nodded. "I think so."

"Good." She began to push him across the room.

Once P.J. finished in the bathroom, Emily helped him back into the chair. "Do you feel like sitting up, or are you ready to lay down again?"

"I think I'd like to sit up." He answered.

"Good." Emily handed him a magazine. "In case you get bored." She explained. "I have some sick people to take care of, unlike you. If you need me, just call the front desk."

"Thanks, Emily."

Emily had only been out of the room for a few minutes when someone knocked on the door. "Come in." P.J. answered.

Amy and Bob stuck their heads in carefully, eyeing the bed and seeing no one in it. "P.J.?" Amy called out.

"Oh, hey mom, dad." P.J. greeted.

Amy's eyes widened. "You're up? Does Dr. Allen know you're up?"

"Of course. She's the one who suggested it."

Bob smiled and ruffled P.J.'s hair, careful of the bruise on the left side of his head. "How are you doing, sport?"

P.J. nodded slowly. "I'm pretty good. A little sore, but pretty good." He looked around Amy and Bob. "Where's everyone else?"

"Teddy is watching Gabe and Charlie. The hospital isn't letting anyone under 16 in because of infection risks." Bob explained.

"What are you reading?" Amy asked, changing the subject.

"Not much, just mostly looking at the pictures. It makes my head hurt to read." He answered.

Amy squeezed his right arm. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" P.J. asked.

"That you have to go through this." Amy said softly.

"Oh." He paused and offered a crooked smile. "I'll be fine, mom."

Amy smiled. "I know you will, sweetheart."

Dr. Allen knocked on the door. "Oh, I see you have company."

"Hey, Dr. Allen. How's it going?" P.J. said.

Dr. Allen smiled. "I'm good and it looks like you're doing pretty well yourself." She reviewed his charts. "You know, I want one more brain scan, but it looks like you might be going home tomorrow."

P.J.'s eyes widened. "Tomorrow, really?"

"I know I initially said a week to 10 days, but you're recovering nicely and since the concussion wasn't as bad as we originally thought, I'm pretty convinced that you'll be leaving us tomorrow."

P.J. smiled. "Alright!"

"Now, don't get me wrong, you're still going to be on lots of bed rest and none of your usual activities for a while. You'll need to be very careful so you don't pull loose any of my fine sewing work here." She pointed towards his leg and side.

"I get it. Sort of like house arrest." P.J. said glumly.

Dr. Allen smiled. "Well, only if you think of your mom and dad as wardens." She looked at Amy and Bob, Bob stared at Amy.

"Umm. Amy, he will need some space. Don't smother him, but don't let him hurt himself either." Dr. Allen laughed.

"I won't." Amy said defensively.

"P.J., I need to take a look at your leg and your side. Do you want your parents in here or not?" Dr. Allen asked.

"They can stay." P.J. replied.

"OK, I'll get Emily in here, so we can get you back in bed." She pressed the call button.

"Yes."

"This is Dr. Allen, could you send Emily in here, please?"

"Yes, Dr. Allen."

Emily entered the room. "Can you help him back into bed?" Dr. Allen asked. "I'd like to examine his side and leg."

Emily smiled. "Sure. P.J., do you remember how we talked about you using my arms as leverage?"

P.J. nodded and placed his hands on Emily's arms and gently pulled himself to his feet. He turned and Emily helped him lower himself into the bed. He grimaced slightly as his leg touched the bed, but adjusted himself and let Emily help him lay down. "Thanks, Emily."

"You're quite welcome, P.J." She replied.

"Amy, Bob, he may need some help getting up and down for a few days. The cut on his leg is still very tender." Dr. Allen cautioned.

Amy nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"OK, P.J., let's see what this leg looks like under these bandages." Dr. Allen began to cut away the bandages while Emily prepared a solution to gently wash the area.

Amy's eyes were drawn to the ugly, four inch cut on P.J.'s left calf. It was slightly red and swollen. "This looks pretty good. P.J., we're going to clean it up a bit and disinfect it. You might feel a little stinging." She moved back and let Emily poor the solution directly onto the cut. "Amy, I know you've done this a million times before, but doing it for you son might be difficult."

P.J. gritted his teeth as the cut began to sting. "It hurts." He cried out.

Emily placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know, P.J. It'll be over soon. We have to make sure it's clean and disinfected."

Amy made her way to the other side of the bed and took P.J.'s hand. "What do you think, kiddo, can you let me do this?"

P.J. squeezed his eyes tightly and nodded. "I guess." He said between clinched teeth.

Soon the burning eased and Dr. Allen put a soothing salve over the cut and had Emily rebandaged it. "Better?" She asked.

P.J. nodded.

"Are you OK?" She asked.

"Just tired." He replied.

Dr. Allen smiled. "I'm sorry, but we need to do the same thing to your side." She began the process all over again on P.J.'s wounded side. When she was finished, P.J. was asleep.

"Are you sure he's ready to come home? He's exhausted." Bob said softly.

"He needs rest and it's a proven fact, most patients rest better at home, not in the hospital." She looked at Bob and Amy. "P.J. is no exception. He's anxious to see Gabe and Charlie and they aren't allowed to visit here right now. He needs to be at home."

Amy nodded. "I need him to be home." She looked up at Bob.

Bob squeezed her hand from across the bed. "I know you do."

"When will you do the brain scan?" Amy asked as the orderlies came in.

"Right now."

"But he's asleep." Bob said.

"His brain's not." Dr. Allen replied as she watched the orderlies gently lift P.J. to the gurney and take him out of the room. "You can stay right here. We'll have him back in about an hour."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"**Homecoming"**

The following morning:

"P.J., I have good news." Dr. Allen stated as she entered the room. "You're going home today."

P.J.'s eyes lit up. "Home? Really, after yesterday I wasn't too sure you'd let me leave."

The doctor smiled as she reviewed her patient's chart. "Everything looks really good," She checked the notes from his brain scan. "Your brain scan looks good, and you seem to be getting around very well, so yes, I think it would be fine for you to go home today. Besides, I understand that you have two younger siblings who are very eager to see you."

P.J. smiled as he thought of Gabe and Charlie. "Yes ma'am, I sure do and I'm pretty anxious to see them too."

"I've already called your mom and dad, they should be here within the hour and I'll have all of the paperwork completed."

"Great." He replied as the doctor reached for the door. "Thanks, Dr. Allen."

"You are quite welcome, P.J."

At the Duncan household:

"Bob, do you think we can bring his bed downstairs?" Amy asked.

Bob shook his head. "How about the couch downstairs? It's a pullout bed and we can make it comfortable for him and . . ."

Amy shook her head adamantly. "No. He needs to be on the main floor. I know he can't do the stairs, but . . ."

"Amy, Teddy's room is downstairs and she can help keep an eye on him. I'm sure she doesn't mind and . . ."

"Doesn't mind what?" Teddy asked as she overhead hear parent's discussion.

Amy gently pulled Teddy to the couch. "Honey, P.J. is coming home today."

Teddy's face lit up. "That's great!"

Amy smiled. "Yes, but we're just realizing that he's not going to be able to stay in his room."

"There's no easy way to get him upstairs and . . ." Bob explained.

"So where is easiest?" Teddy interrupted, excitedly.

"Downstairs." Amy replied. "We're thinking of fixing up the pull-out couch and since there's already a bathroom down there and . . ." She watched her daughter's face.

"That should work out fine. I can help keep an eye on him and make sure he's not up when he's not supposed to be and . . ." Teddy exclaimed.

Bob and Amy hugged their daughter. "We were hoping you'd feel that way."

The next hour was spent readying the room downstairs. Gabe brought everything off of P.J.'s bed and transferred it downstairs. He started to lay his brother's guitar across the bed, when Teddy eyed it. "Gabe, it may be a little soon for the guitar."

"But P.J. loves this guitar and I'm sure he'd want it down here." Gabe replied.

Teddy shook her head. "Gabe, I know he loves that guitar, but he won't be able to play it for a while. His left arm and collarbone are broken. I just think it might do more harm than good."

Gabe nodded. "You think he'll try to play it before he can, right?"

Teddy smiled. "Something like that. Gabe, we just need to make sure that P.J. is as comfortable as possible so he'll get better faster. I know you're excited to see him, but don't tire him out. He needs to rest and . . ."

"You sound like mom." Gabe stated. "I'm not going to bother him. I want him to get better too."

"I know you do." She replied as they put the last pillow in place.

Amy bounded down the stairs. "Wow! You guys have been busy. This looks great." She eyed the guitar. "You know though, as much as P.J. loves his music, I think maybe the guitar should go back upstairs for a while."

Gabe reached for the instrument. "Oh yeah, Teddy and I were just talking about that. We don't want him to try to play it before he's ready."

"Good." Amy said, lightly tapping her son's shoulder as he took the guitar back to its stand in he and P.J.'s bedroom.

**One hour later:**

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Gabe asked as Teddy paced the floor, holding Charlie.

She dialed her mom's cell number. "Hello." Amy answered.

"Where are you guys?" Teddy asked.

Amy smiled. "Just pulling into the back driveway now. Can you open the back door so we can bring P.J. in?"

Teddy was halfway down the stairs before she hung up the phone. "They're here!" She shouted back up the stairs to Gabe.

Teddy opened the door and Bob pushed P.J.'s wheelchair in. Teddy's eye lit up as her brother entered the room. "P.J., I'm so glad you're home!" She exclaimed.

"P.J.!" Charlie cried out and reached for her oldest brother.

"Hey Charlie." Teddy leaned her in close, so P.J. could kiss her cheek. "Thanks Teddy."

"Do you need anything?" Teddy asked.

"No, I'm good." He looked around. "Hey, where's Gabe?"

Teddy looked around. "He was here just a minute ago." She looked around the room and even in the bathroom. "Gabe?" She called out.

Amy looked towards the staircase. "P.J., I'll be back in a second." She patted her son's good shoulder and then headed upstairs.

"Gabe?" She called out as she looked throughout the living room and kitchen. She then made her way upstairs to Gabe and P.J.'s bedroom. The door was closed and she could hear the strum of a couple of chords on the guitar. She knocked on the door as she turned the knob. "Gabe, can I come in?"

"Doors open." He said quietly, never looking up from P.J's guitar that he cradled in his lap.

Amy rested her arm around Gabe's shoulders. "P.J. is anxious to see you."

Gabe shook his head. "He's not the same."

Amy pulled her youngest son close. "What do you mean, he's not the same?" She asked quietly.

Gabe shook his head. "He looks tired and . . . just not like P.J."

"Gabe, P.J. is tired and sore and bruised and it is going to take him a while to get back to himself, but he will be fine. He just needs time." Amy explained.

"I know, but . . . it's just hard to see him like that. That's not P.J." Gabe replied.

Amy cupped Gabe's chin and turned his head towards hers until their eyes met. "Gabe. P.J. has already come a long way in a short time. Give him a chance."

Gabe nodded slowly.

Amy shifted in the bed and started to get up. "Now, pull yourself together and let's go downstairs with the rest of the family."

Gabe gently laid P.J.'s guitar aside and went downstairs with Amy.

P.J. was still sitting comfortably in his wheelchair, now with Charlie on his lap while Teddy and Bob knelt close by. As Amy came down the stairs, P.J. lifted his head, hoping to see his brother. He started to look away just as Gabe's feet came into view. P.J.'s face lit up. "There he is!"

Amy looked at Gabe and coaxed him down the remaining three steps. "Come on, Gabe. P.J.'s waiting to see you."

"Gabe!" P.J. shouted out. "Come over here."

Teddy took Charlie from P.J.'s lap and moved towards the couch with her.

"Bob." Amy started, nodding towards Gabe and P.J. Bob knew this was her subtle way of telling him to give the boys some space.

When Gabe finally made his way to P.J.'s side, he gently touched his brother's right arm. P.J. smiled. "What's up with you?" P.J. asked.

Gabe looked down, not wanting to face his brother. "Nothin."

"Gabe." P.J. stated in a slightly stronger voice. "Look at me." He said, lifting Gabe's chin.

Gabe shook his head. "I can't." He fought to keep his head down, but P.J. won out.

"Gabe, what's wrong?" P.J. asked as he locked eyes with Gabe.

"What's wrong? You're asking me what's wrong." Tears were beginning to flow down the younger boy's face. "I thought you were dead. I . . . I." he buried his head into P.J.'s chest.

P.J. grimaced slightly as Gabe's head touched his ribs, causing Amy to get up. P.J. shook his head as the pain eased and began to lightly rub Gabe's back. "I'm not dead, Gabe. I'm right here and you know what, as soon as I've had a nap and maybe something to eat . . ." He cleared his throat, hoping his parents and Teddy would get the hint that he wanted to talk to Gabe alone.

Amy took the hint and stood up. "Bob, do you think you and Teddy can help me pull some lunch together?"

P. J. continued after the others left the room. " . . . maybe we can play that new video game later. Of course, you'll have to handicap me the first 50 points since I'll be playing one-handed."

Gabe didn't move, but he did stop crying. "Am I hurting you?" He asked softly.

P.J. shook his head. "Nope. You can stay there as long as you like, but don't expect to me to move my arm."

Gabe smiled. "I don't want you to move your arm."

The two brothers sat like that for ten minutes or so and only stirred as they heard Amy coming back downstairs. "Are you guys ready for lunch?" She asked, not really wanting to disturb them, but knowing that P.J. was going to have to rest soon.

P.J. rubbed Gabe's back again and winced as his brother got up. Gabe's eyes grew large as he heard P.J. "What did I do? Are you OK?"

P.J. nodded. "I'm fine, Gabe."

Gabe stared at P.J., taking in the heavy cast on his arm and collarbone as well as the bandage across his forehead. "Mom said you had broken ribs. I forgot. I'm sorry." Gabe spoke in a hurried, scared voice.

P.J. reached for him. "Gabe. You didn't hurt me. I'm just sore, buddy. I'm gonna be a little tender here and there."

Gabe nodded. "Which side are your broken ribs on?" He asked.

P.J. looked up at Amy before answering. "The left, so see, you didn't hurt me. Now, I'm starving, so can we eat lunch?"

Gabe seemed satisfied for the moment and nodded his head. Amy sat a sandwich in front of Gabe and a bowl of soup in front of P.J. and watched as they devoured their meals.

When they were finished, Amy turned to P.J. with a couple of small pills in her hand and a bottle of water. "Here you go."

P.J. took the pills from her. "You know these make me sleepy, right?"

Amy nodded. "I know, but you need them for the pain."

"Is dad still here, or do you plan to try to get me up and into bed by yourself?" He asked.

"You don't think I can put you to bed?" Amy asked as she took the remainder of the bottle of water from him.

P.J. looked at her. "I think you could, but I don't know if you should. I do weigh more than Charlie and with this cast, I'm thinking maybe 25 additional pounds." He laughed.

She moved his wheelchair to the side of the bed. "Your dad isn't home right now, he's taken Charlie to Mrs. Rockmyer's, and I do this for a living, remember?" She leaned in close to her son. "Now, remember how Nurse Emily had you brace yourself with your good arm? Do the same thing with me."

P.J. used Amy for leverage and pulled himself up to a standing position, being careful of the amount of weight he put on his injured left leg. Amy wrapped her arms gently around her son's waist and eased him down on the edge of the bed. "OK, now we'll swing your legs around and . . . voila', you're in bed."

P.J. squeezed his eyes shut against the pain he was feeling in his side and chest area, instantly regretting it as his head started to pound.

"P.J.?" Amy questioned as her son drew in a ragged breath. "Son, are you OK?" She cupped his cheek in her hand. "I know it hurts a little, but its better to do it quickly than to prolong the pain." She explained.

His breathing eased, somewhat as he tried to speak. "Emily never hurt me."

Amy looked hurt. "Honey, you were in the hospital, today you've been moved to the car, took a half hour ride, moved out of the car, endured hugs from everyone, and . . ."

As Amy spoke, she noted that P.J.'s breathing had evened out. She pulled her hand gently away from his cheek, and gently kissed his forehead. He had fallen asleep. "You really were worn out." She said softly, pulling a thin blanket over him.

"He is just sleeping, right?" Gabe asked, causing Amy to jump. "Gabe! I'm sorry, I forgot you were down here." She turned and smiled at him. "Yes, he's just sleeping," she whispered. "And he probably will be for a while, so why don't we go upstairs and . . ."

Gabe shook his head. "No, I'm not going to leave him alone down here." Amy looked at him quizzically. "I'm not going to wake him up, I promise. I just don't want to leave him alone."

"He won't be alone." Teddy announced quietly, as she entered the room. "I'll be in my room, and I'll leave the door open so I'll hear him if he wakes up."

Gabe shook his head again. "I don't want to go upstairs just yet." Gabe replied.

Teddy nodded, looking at Amy. "It's fine with me, if it's OK with you."

"Did you take your pain meds?" Amy asked Teddy. Teddy nodded. "Then you'll be asleep soon too." She turned to Gabe. "You have to promise you'll be quiet and if P.J. should wake up, come and get me."

Gabe nodded. "I will." He paused. "Wait, is it bad if he wakes up anytime soon?"

Amy stared at him, "No, it's not necessarily a bad thing, I would just like to know when he wakes up, OK?"

Gabe nodded again. "OK. I can do that."

Teddy waited until their mom disappeared up the stairs and motioned for Gabe to come into her room, something she never did. "So Gabe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He shifted from one foot to the other.

"Gabe?"

"P.J. almost died, didn't he?" He asked quietly.

Images of the wreck flooded Teddy's memory. She slowly nodded and softly replied, "Yes."

Gabe sat down, hard, on the edge of Teddy's bed. "You both could have died."

Teddy took Gabe's hand in hers. "Yes, we could have, but we didn't."

They both jumped as P.J. coughed. "Is he awake?" Gabe whispered as Teddy got up to check on her older brother. Noting how pale he looked, she felt his forehead. She returned to her room and shook her head in answer to Gabe's questioning eyes. "No, he's still sleeping, but he's a little warm."

"Should I go get mom?" Gabe asked.

Teddy shook her head. "I don't think so. We'll keep an eye on him and if he gets any worse, we'll go get her."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 1****2**

"**Dreams and Fevers****"**

The house was quiet and everyone had finally nodded off to sleep.

"No! Teddy, you've go to get out!" P.J. thrashed around in the bed. "Teddy!" He screamed.

Gabe woke with a start at the sound of P.J. screaming. "P.J.! P.J.! It's a dream, dude. You've got to wake up!"

"No! Hurts!" P.J. cried out, grabbing his left side.

"Mom!" Gabe shouted. "Dad!" He shouted again. "Help!" Gabe shouted as he tried to keep P.J. still. "Teddy!" He shouted to his now sleeping sister.

Amy sat straight up in bed and nudged Bob. "Bob, did you hear something?"

"No." Bob mumbled without stirring.

"Mom! Dad!" Gabe shouted again.

Amy and Bob both threw off the covers and ran downstairs. "Gabe, what is it?" Amy shouted.

P.J. was shaking uncontrollably as Teddy came out of her room and joined the rest of the family. "What's wrong?" She asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

Amy sat beside of P.J. while Bob rubbed his back. "P.J." Amy said softly. "Are you awake now?'

P.J. nodded and inhaled a ragged breath. "Hurts." He winced as he spoke, still trying to gain control of his breathing.

Gabe stood to one side of the bed and jumped slightly as Teddy put her arm around him. "What happened?" She asked.

Gabe shook his head. "He was dreaming. He shouted your name and 'you've got to get out.' I don't know what he was talking about, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the wreck."

"Can one of you get me a cold washcloth?" Amy asked as she felt P.J.'s forehead.

"He's still feverish?" Teddy asked, concerned.

Amy nodded. "Still feverish? You mean you knew he was running a fever and you didn't come and get me?" Her eyes never left her oldest child. Bob handed her a cool washcloth and she began dabbing P.J's forehead, trying to cool him off. Her eyes drifted to Teddy. "Teddy, why don't the two of you go upstairs and try to get some sleep?" She suggested.

Gabe shook his head. "I don't want to leave him."

"Gabe." P.J. whispered as Amy mopped his forehead with the cloth. "You'll sleep better . . . in your own bed. I'll be fine. I'll catch you in morning, OK?" He closed his eyes again, waiting for a reply from his little brother.

Gabe looked up at Teddy who was desperately trying to hold back her tears, and nodded. "OK, I'll go upstairs on one condition."

"What's that, bud?" Bob asked.

"If anything changes, you'll let me know." Gabe replied.

Bob smiled as he placed his hand on his younger son's shoulder. "You've got it."

Teddy gently picked up P.J.'s right hand and smiled. "Stop dreaming about me, OK?" She paused and looked at her older brother very seriously. "You did everything right, P.J."

P.J. opened his glazed over eyes to look at his sister. "If I'd done . . . everything right, you wouldn't have a broken arm . . . and I wouldn't be laying here." He tried to smile, but a strong cough overtook him. His eyes squeezed closed as he struggled to pull in a deep breath. "Mom?" He said softly.

"I know it hurts, baby." She said softly and rubbed P.J.'s back until the cough subsided. "Bob, I need for you to go upstairs and get his antibiotic, and bring me the phone down here too."

"Come on guys." Bob motioned to Teddy and Gabe. Once they were upstairs, Gabe headed up the other flight of stairs to his room. Teddy took a seat on the couch and stared straight ahead, listening as her dad rambled through the kitchen cabinets looking for P.J.'s meds. Once he had them, he came back through the living room. "Are you OK?" He asked as he grabbed the phone. Teddy nodded as she watched her dad scrambled back downstairs.

"Here you go." He handed the bottle of pills to Amy, along with the phone. "How is he, really?" He asked.

Amy shook her head and pulled the tympanic thermometer from P.J.'s ear. "I've checked his temperature twice now." She stared at the ready again. "103." She replied as she picked up the phone. "I'm calling the hospital."

Bob stared at his son, noting how pale he was. He reached out and touched P.J.'s cheek, while listening to Amy's end of the conversation. "Sally, it's Amy Duncan. Is Dr. Allen on tonight? Can you page her for me? It's about P.J." She worriedly ran her fingers through her hair as she waited for the doctor to pick up the line.

"Amy, its Dr. Allen. What's going on with P.J.?"

"He's in a great deal of pain and his temperature is 103. I've held off giving him his next dose of antibiotic in case this is a reaction to the meds." Amy replied.

"That's good. Amy, where is his pain?" The doctor asked.

Amy shook her head. "He hasn't really been able to tell me, but his breathing is labored."

Dr. Allen listened intently. "Amy, call a squad for him now. I'll be waiting for him in the ER."

"What do you think is wrong?" Amy asked.

"It sounds like he has an infection, or it could be a reaction to the antibiotic. I need to check him over and a temp of 103 is too high to ignore, especially in a post-op patient."

Amy's tears flowed freely as she hung up and dialed 9-1-1. "Stay with him. I need to go upstairs and talk to Teddy and Gabe." She looked down, realizing she was wearing her pajamas. "And change clothes."

Teddy heard footsteps coming upstairs and met her mom at the edge of the staircase. "What's wrong with P.J.?" She asked.

Amy held Teddy by the shoulders. "Teddy, honey . . ." she stroked her hair. "P.J. has to go back to the hospital." She tried her best to hold back the tears. "He either has an infection or has had a reaction to his meds, at any rate, the doctor wants to see him as soon as possible."

Teddy reached up with her left hand and wiped the tears from Amy's face and then from her own. "I'll tell Gabe. You need to change and go with him."

Amy pulled Teddy into a tight hug. "Thank you, honey. He'll be fine. I'm just a mess from all of this anyway and I . . ."

"Mom, go." Teddy stated and watched as Amy ran into the bedroom to change.

Upstairs, Gabe had been silently listening to their conversation at the top of the stairs. Teddy heard his bedroom door slam as she started upstairs. "Gabe!" She shouted. Gabe, come on, open the door. If we hurry, we might be able to see P.J. before the ambulance gets here."

Gabe quietly opened the door and wrapped his arms around Teddy's waist. "It's not fair! He's supposed to be OK. They let him come home."

Teddy rubbed her little brother's back. "I know, Gabe. It doesn't seem fair, but P.J.'s going to be OK. They just need to get his fever down."

They heard the siren from the ambulance and ran downstairs to the basement. Gabe silently made his way to his brother's side and picked up his limp left arm. "P.J." He said quietly. "You have to get better. You can't leave me alone in this house with all these girls." He smiled, but noted that P.J. didn't move. Tears began to form in Gabe's eyes. "I love you." He said quietly and laid his brother's hand back down on the bed.

Teddy took Gabe's place, picking up P.J.'s hand. "I love you too, P.J. Get better soon, OK?"

The ambulance attendants came in quickly with a gurney. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to move so we can load him."

The family moved aside and watched as P.J. was lifted onto the gurney and whisked away into the waiting ambulance. "I'm riding with him." Amy announced, climbing into the back of the ambulance.

"I'm right behind you." Bob stated. "Teddy, will you and Gabe be alright by yourselves? If not, I can . . ."

Teddy shook her head. "We're fine here. Just call us as soon as you know anything about P.J., OK?"

Bob hugged both of them closely. "I will. I love you both."

"Love you too." Teddy and Gabe replied in unison.

Amy clung to her oldest child's hand as the ambulance made the short trip from their home to the hospital. She was so caught up in P.J. that she didn't realize they had arrived. "Ma'am, we're here." The ambulance attendant said as he gently touched her shoulder. "We need to get him inside."

Amy nodded, got out of the ambulance and waited while they unloaded P.J. Bob parked the car and met her inside. "Where is he?" He asked as he noted the blank expression on Amy's face.

"They took him back there." She said emotionless.

Bob wrapped his arm around her and guided her to the waiting area. "He's going to be fine." He said reassuringly, not knowing if he was trying to reassure Amy or himself.

Amy nodded. "I know." She said quietly. "I just . . . P.J.'s never been this still."

Bob took her hand in his. "He's only still when he's sleeping."

Amy squeezed her husband's hand, "or when he's sick." She paused. "Do you remember the year he contracted pneumonia; just before Gabe was born?"

Bob nodded. "He really scared me back then; almost as bad as now."

Amy put her hands together and rubbed them across her face. "He was only seven." She closed her eyes, remembering how still he was, lying in a hospital bed.

Bob's memory had drifted back to the hospital room where his little seven-year old boy lay, struggling to breathe. "I remember. They had to put him on a ventilator for a couple of days to give his little lungs time to recover."

Amy nodded as tears streamed down her face. She tried to hard not to cry, but finally gave into the silent sobs and fell into Bob's open arms. "I can't stand to see any of them hurting."

"Shh." Bob stroked her hair. "I know. It makes you feel so helpless when your child is hurt and you can't do anything to help."

"He shouldn't have been on the road, Bob. He shouldn't have been trying to drive in a snow storm like that." Amy was so tired; she hardly knew what she was saying.

Dr. Allen stopped just inside the waiting area and spotting Amy and Bob, approached them quietly. She took a seat opposite the couple. "Amy, Bob." She gently touched Bob's elbow.

"Doctor, how is he?" Bob asked as Amy sat upright and wiped her eyes.

Dr. Allen smiled. "He has a bit of infection in his left lung. It's not pneumonia, but if it had gone much longer . . ." She waited for that to sink in before continuing. "He's in ICU and we've put him on a ventilator to help him breathe better and he's on some very strong IV antibiotics to clear up the infection, Tygacil to be exact." She paused again. "Bob, Amy, I have him in a light, drug-induced coma." She saw the fear in both of their eyes and quickly continued. "I don't want him to wake up right now. He needs to rest. His lung desperately needs time to heal."

"But you let him come home. You said he was OK." Amy cried.

Dr. Allen hung her head. "When I released him, everything was fine. There was no medical reason to keep him here. I'm hoping 24-hours on the vent will be enough time to allow the heavy antibiotics to take effect."

Amy tried hard to compose herself before speaking. "Can we see him?"

Dr. Allen nodded. "Yes, but just for a few minutes."

Before entering the ICU, Bob took Amy's hand in his. "You remember what to expect, right?" He asked. She nodded and opened the door.

P.J. was lying in bed with a breathing tube taped to his mouth. The steady beeping of a heart monitor caught Amy's attention.

Bob only heard the steady "Swish, swish" of the air being compressed into his son's lungs and released. He knew it wasn't as if P.J. couldn't breathe on his own, but still there was something very unsettling about the sound.

Amy took P.J.'s hand. "We're here, honey. Daddy and I are here for you." She felt hot tears stream down her face.

Bob touched P.J.'s leg. "That's right, we're here." He too felt hot tears on his cheeks.

Amy tore her gaze away from P.J.'s face for a moment to notice several things. First, he wasn't wearing a shirt of any kind. The ugly bruise from the seatbelt had turned P.J.'s fair skin on his chest to a deep, ugly, purple, and bluish-black. She also took note of the unbandaged, post-op wound to his side. It was slightly red and discolored. His head was still bandaged. She gently reached up and moved a stray piece of hair from his face. "It's OK, baby. You're going to be OK."

She also noticed that his blood pressure was a little low. He still felt hot to the touch, which was definitely a sign that the fever was still present.

" Mrs. Duncan, I'm sorry, but your visiting time is up." A nurse announced as she opened the door.

Amy nodded, picked up P.J.'s hand and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "I love you, P.J." She moved so Bob could move in closer to their son's side.

"Hey kiddo." Bob ran his fingers through P.J.'s hair, careful not to touch the bandaged area. "I love you, son." He leaned down and gently kissed P.J.'s forehead.

"We can't go in again for another hour." Amy said quietly as Bob emerged from P.J.'s room.

Bob only nodded; afraid his voice would crack if he tried to speak.

"I'm going to call home." Amy said, pulling out her cell phone. As she started down the hall, an urgent page came over the P.A. system.

"Dr. Allen, ICU 3, STAT!, Dr. Allen, ICU 3, STAT!"

Amy's eyes widened and she dropped her phone as several medical personnel ran into room 3 . . . P.J. room. Dr. Allen ran past her.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, but watched as the door to room 3 shut in her face. She rested her palm on the door, as if to feel what was going on.

Bob and a nurse gently took her by the arms and led her to the waiting area. "That's my son's room!" She said quietly. "I need to know what's going on!" She said in a hushed whisper, almost afraid to know the answer to her question.

"I'm sure the doctor will be out in a minute to update you on your son's condition." She helped eased Amy into a chair. "Let me get you some water." The nurse was back in an instant with two bottles of water, one for Amy and one for Bob, who hadn't spoken a word since they were urged away from P.J.'s door.

As Amy started to speak, Dr. Allen entered the room. Bob started to get up. "Keep your seat, please. P.J.'s OK. He gave us a bit of a scare. His blood pressure dropped dangerously low, rather quickly. We've countered it with meds and we're monitoring him closely."

"What caused the drop?" Amy asked.

"The meds we had him on. He seems to have had a reaction." Dr. Allen stated.

Amy nodded. "You're sure he's OK, now?"

"As long as he doesn't have a reaction to the antibiotic we have him on now, he'll be fine."

"I noticed in his chart, under allergies, you only list the Penicillin family." Dr. Allen said.

"He's never really been on anything else that he's had a reaction to." Bob replied.

"Was this when he had pneumonia when he was seven?" Dr. Allen questioned, glancing through P.J.'s chart.

Bob nodded. "Yes. That's the only other time he's been in the hospital." His voice threatened to crack.

Dr. Allen smiled. "I know this must be hard on both of you, but he's young and healthy. He's hit a bit of a rough patch right now, but given a few days, we should see significant improvement." She patted Amy's knee. "Do either of you have additional questions for me?"

Amy and Bob both shook their heads. "OK, I have rounds. I'll check on P.J. again before my shift ends."

Amy and Bob just sat there for a while, holding each others hand. "Oh, I need to call Teddy and Gabe." Amy said after a few minutes.

Bob smiled at her. "OK. I'm going to sit here, unless you want me to go outside with you."

Amy smiled slightly, and shook her head. "No. I need to clear my head before we go back in to see him."

The Duncan household:

Gabe knocked lightly on Teddy's bedroom door. "Come in." She announced, drying her eyes.

He opened the door slightly, surprised to notice that Teddy had been crying. "Hey." She smiled when he came in. "I thought you'd be sleeping." He said.

Teddy shook her head. "Nope. It's not quite time for my medicine yet. That's what makes me sleep."

"No word from mom and dad, yet?" Gabe asked.

Teddy shook her head again. "No, but hopefully no news is good news." Just then her cellphone rang. "It's mom!" She said as she answered.

"How is he?" She asked as she answered.

"Hey honey. He's . . . Honey, your brother is in ICU. He has an infection and . . ."

"An infection?" Teddy asked.

"I want to hear too. Put her on speaker." Gabe suggested.

"Mom, can I put you on speaker? Gabe is down here and wants to know what's going on too." Teddy asked.

"Teddy, don't put me on speaker. We need to break a few things down for Gabe." Amy answered.

Teddy stood up and moved away from the bed. "Gabe, I need to talk to mom in private."

"What's wrong?" Gabe asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'll talk with you when I'm done with mom, OK?" Her eyes pleaded with her younger brother and the look wasn't lost on Gabe.

He hung his head and left the room.

"Mom, what is going on? What is so bad that Gabe couldn't hear it from you?" Teddy asked.

Amy paused. "Teddy, P.J. is on a ventilator to help him breathe. It's just until his lung is stronger, but they have him in a mild, drug-induced coma to keep him still and he had a reaction to the antibiotic they were giving him."

"What kind of reaction?" Teddy asked.

"His blood pressure plummeted. It's back up now and his vitals are good, but . . ."

"But what?" Teddy felt hot tears streaming down her face.

"He could be here for a while, or he could perk up and be fine in a few days. We have to get the infection under control and then they may wean him off of the ventilator and the meds, or they could just take him off of the vent, if he's breathing well enough and send him home on the meds." She tried her best to hold herself together while talking to Teddy, but her voice broke as she explained P.J.'s situation.

Teddy was sobbing. "But you're sure he's going to be OK, right. I mean he's not on the ventilator because he can't breathe on his own, right?"

Amy calmed herself, realizing she had Teddy all worked up. "No, no, no, honey. He can breathe on his own, but it's taking too much energy and he's not breathing as deeply as he needs to be because it hurts. Dr. Allen put him in a drug-induced coma to keep him still and calm and put him on the vent so his breathing would be deeper and hopefully drive out the infection sooner."

Teddy nodded. "Tell him I love him."

Amy nodded. "I will, honey. Teddy I need a favor. Could you call Mrs. Rockmyer and let her know what's going on. I think it might be best if Charlie spent the night there tonight. You and Gabe are going to have enough to deal with worrying about P.J."

"I'll call her, but I think it might do Gabe and me both some good if Charlie were here. It might help take our minds off of P.J. for awhile."

"OK. If you're up to it, but remember to take your meds. If they make you sleepy, make sure Gabe is awake enough to keep an eye on Charlie, or better yet, call Ivy to spend the night." Amy suggested.

Teddy smiled. "I'll do that." She paused. "I love you, mom. Tell dad, I love him too."

Amy nodded. "I will honey and we love you, Gabe and Charlie too."

Teddy hung up the phone and went in search of Gabe. "Gabe, where are you?"

"Up here." He replied from the sanctity of his and P.J.'s bedroom. He again had P.J.'s guitar and was quietly strumming.

Teddy came in quietly. "What are you playing?" She asked.

"Just a few chords." He said, not looking away from the neck of the guitar. "P.J.'s teaching me to play." He said quietly.

"Really? I didn't think he'd let anyone touch his guitar." Teddy plopped on the bed beside her brother.

"How is he?" Gabe asked.

Teddy pursed her lips and lilted her head. "Well, not so good, but not so bad."

Gabe stopped strumming. "What does that mean?"

"He's in ICU. Mom said he has an infection in his left lung and he's on a breathing machine called a ventilator." She paused to let this sink in.

Gabe looked up at her. "He can't breathe on his own?"

Teddy shook her head. "That's what I thought to until mom explained. He can breathe on his own, but he wasn't pulling in enough air, so his doctor has put him in a drug- induced coma to keep him still and put him on the ventilator to breathe for him."

"For how long?" Gabe asked.

Teddy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess that's sort of up to P.J. Whenever his body starts responding to the antibiotics they're giving him and he starts getting stronger, I guess they'll take him off of the ventilator and move him out of ICU, but it may take a while."

"I miss him." Gabe said quietly.

Teddy smiled. "Believe it or not, so do I."

"What about Charlie? Does she come home tonight or . . .?

"Well, that's sort of up to me and you. Mom suggested that Ivy might come over and help take care of Charlie if we bring her home." Teddy saw the apprehension in Gabe's eyes. "Only because, once I take my meds, I'm pretty out of it and I won't be able to watch Charlie."

"I can watch her." Gabe stated.

Teddy smiled. "I know you can, but what if you needed a grown up? Gabe, once I take my pain meds, I'm out like a light."

"OK, Ivy can come over." Gabe said sullenly.

Back at the hospital:

Amy held P.J.'s hand the entire ten minutes she and Bob were allowed with him. "I wish he could wake up." She said quietly.

Bob shook his head. "No you don't. He would fight the vent and things would just be much worse for him."

Amy nodded. "I know you're right, but I'm being selfish. I want him to wake up. I want to hear him say something silly to make me laugh. I . . ." She looked at her son and back at Bob. "I want our son back." Tears made their way, once again down her face.

"Shh." Bob leaned over and again kissed P.J. on the forehead before taking Amy's hand. "Come on, time's up. I'm guessing you'll want to stay here, at the hospital for the night, right?

Amy nodded. "I can't leave him."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 1****3**

"**Gaining Ground****"**

Amy handed Bob a cup of coffee. "Here." She said.

"Thank you." Bob replied, stretching before taking the cup.

"It's not very good, but it's all they had." She defended as he took the cup. "Have you seen Dr. Allen this morning?"

Bob shook his head. "The nurse said she had some big emergency last night and pulled a double, so she may not be in today."

Amy nodded. "It happens."

A petite nurse rounded the corner. "Mrs. Duncan, Mr. Duncan, you can see P.J. now. His vitals are great this morning and his lung sounds pretty clear. Dr. Allen won't be in until after 4:00 today, but P.J. will be her first priority."

"Thanks, Sharon." Amy replied as she and Bob prepared to go in and see their son again.

As they entered the room, Bob couldn't help but notice some change. "His color looks a lot better than it did yesterday." He observed.

Amy smiled at the noticeable differences. "Definitely." She took P.J.'s hand in hers and moved a few stray hairs from his face. "He's still a little warm though."

Sharon entered the room. "Sorry, I just need his chart."

"Sharon, what's his temp. this morning?" Amy asked.

"He's down to 99. That's a big improvement from yesterday."

They stayed their ten minutes and went back to the waiting area. "Amy, he's stable and we can't see him again for an hour. Do you want to go grab some breakfast, or . . . maybe run home and grab a shower and see the kids?"

"Can we go home and see the kids?" She asked.

"Let's go."

"Let me tell Sharon." She slipped away to the nurses' station to let Sharon know that she and Bob could be reached on her cellphone if needed, but that they were going home for a while.

"I'll call you if there's any change." Sharon replied.

"Thank you." Amy said.

The Duncan household:

Teddy was awakened by the sound of her cellphone. "Hello." She answered in a groggy voice.

"Hey, sweetie, it's mom. Your dad and I are going to bring breakfast by in a little while. Is Gabe up yet?" Amy said.

Teddy stretched. "No, I don't think so. I'll check." She shifted Charlie, who was in bed with her, to the side and opened her bedroom door, where she found Gabe sleeping on the sofa bed. "He's down here, in P.J.'s makeshift bed." She relayed to her mom.

"Where's Charlie?" Amy asked.

"She's in my room." Teddy paused. "Hey, how is P.J.?"

Amy smiled. "He's doing a little better this morning. He's asleep, his vitals are great and his doctor won't be in until this afternoon, so your dad and I thought we'd come home for a while and spend some time with you guys. Is Ivy still there?"

"Good. Charlie's been asking for you and dad . . . and P.J. and no, Ivy had to go home early this morning. She's doing something with her family, but said she'd come back by later."

"Teddy, P.J. will be home soon and everything will get back to normal." Amy assured her daughter.

"I know. Let me get Gabe up and showered and I'll try to have Charlie changed by the time you guys get here."

As soon as Amy and Bob pulled into the driveway, they were met by Gabe, and Teddy, who was holding Charlie in her one good arm.

"Mommy!" Charlie shouted.

"What about Daddy?" Bob asked and reached for his youngest daughter.

"Daddy!" Charlie cried out and looked around. "Where P.J.?"

"Charlie, P.J.'s got a boo-boo and will be at the doctor's for a while." Teddy explained . . . again.

Gabe hadn't spoken a word to either of his parents since they arrived.

Bob put his arm around his son's shoulders. "Gabe, what's wrong, buddy?"

Gabe quietly shook his head. "You left him all alone. How could you just leave him all alone?" He wriggled out of his father's grasp and ran into the house.

Amy started to hand Charlie off to Teddy, but Bob stopped her. "No, let me talk to him."

Bob knocked on Gabe's door. "Son, can I come in?"

Gabe sniffled in reply and continued to strum on P.J.'s guitar.

"Hey, that's sounding pretty good." Bob announced as he entered the boys' room.

Gabe looked up. "You really think so?"

Bob nodded. "I know so." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Did P.J. teach you that?"

Gabe nodded. "I've been practicing every day. I want to be able to play it when he comes home."

Bob smiled and placed his hand on Gabe's leg. "I'm sure he'd like that."

"Dad, he is coming home, isn't he?"

Bob nodded. "He's getting stronger every day. I'm really hoping that they'll take him off of the ventilator this afternoon."

Gabe stopped playing. "If they do, when will he come home?"

Bob shook his head. "I don't know, son. We'll have to wait and see what the doctor says."

Amy knocked on the door and entered. "Am I interrupting?" She asked.

Bob smiled. "No. We were just getting ready to come downstairs, right Gabe?"

Gabe nodded. "Right, dad."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 1****4**

"**Winning the Battle"**

After spending the morning and a good part of the afternoon with their three younger children, Amy and Bob headed back to the hospital to be with P.J.

They made their way to the ICU and started to enter P.J.'s room. "Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, wait!" Sharon called out to them as Amy opened the door to an empty room. Her face drained of all color.

"Where is he?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sharon smiled. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Dr. Allen came in not long after you left and she took P.J. off of the ventilator. He's in room 220." She made sure Amy heard her. "Amy, he's fine. His temperature is normal, he's breathing normal. He's fine." She waited for that to sink in. "As a matter-of-fact, Dr. Allen mentioned maybe releasing him today or tomorrow."

"He's fine." Amy said, her voice a little stronger. She squeezed Bob's hand and felt him release the breath neither of them knew he was holding. "Our baby's fine."

Bob smiled. "I need to see him."

Soon Amy and Bob were on the 2nd floor of the hospital, just outside of Room 220. Amy gently knocked and pushed the door open at the same time. "P.J.?"

"Hey mom." He said hoarsely. "Hey dad."

"Oh, P.J." Amy hugged him and cupped his cheek.

"You managed to scare the heck out of us again, son." Bob said as he gently hugged his boy.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that." He winced as he swallowed.

Amy picked up a cup of ice chips and moved a spoonful towards his lips. "I know your throat must hurt."

P.J. nodded in a childlike way. "It's dry and sore."

Bob smiled, noting how his son almost looked seven again. "Where is Dr. Allen?"

P.J. finished swallowing the spoonful of ice chips. "She had rounds, but she'll be back in a little while."

"Why didn't anyone call us?" Amy asked. "You can't imagine how scared we both were when we got to the ICU and your room was empty."

"Sorry. Everyone thought you needed some time away from here." P.J. answered.

Everything was quiet for a few minutes, and then P.J. piped up. "How's Gabe?"

"He's . . . OK." Bob said hesitantly.

P.J. shook his head. "I know he's not OK. If I scared the heck out of you guys, I must have really scared him . . . and Teddy for that matter."

"I think Teddy is OK. She's old enough to understand what's going on, but Gabe . . ." Bob started only to be hushed by Amy.

P.J. smiled. "It's OK mom. I know Gabe is scared. He talked to me about it a little bit the other day. He thought I was dead because no one would explain what happened to me."

Amy took P.J.'s hand in hers. "We were trying to protect him."

"Sometimes we need to know what's really going on . . . you know?" P.J. said.

Amy nodded. "I know." She stroked his hand with her thumb. "It's just very hard to see any of you hurting. Someday, when you have kids, you'll understand that."

P.J. smiled and laughed a bit. "Me? I'm never having kids."

The afternoon was pretty uneventful and just before nightfall, a faint knock was heard at the door. "Come in." Bob announced.

Ivy entered P.J.'s room, stunned at the sight of him. "Well you certainly look better than I expected to find you." She smiled.

"Thanks." P.J. replied. "What are you doing here?"

"You've got my girl all upset and I needed to see for myself that you're OK, so I can get her calmed down." Ivy replied, watching everyone's reaction.

Amy stood up. "Ivy, is she really upset? Is she OK to watch Gabe and Charlie?"

Ivy shook her head. "She needs a break." She paused. "My mom is at your house right now fixing dinner for Gabe and Charlie. Teddy's OK, she's just a little freaked out by what's going on with P.J. and she's blaming herself for the wreck."

Bob looked worried. "Still? I've already explained everything to her. The man driving the 18-wheeler had a heart attack."

P.J. reached towards the table beside of his bed. "Mom, can you hand me the phone?"

"Who are you calling?" Amy asked.

"Teddy." He dialed their home number.

"Hello." Gabe answered.

A smile spread across P.J.'s face. "Hey, buddy. What's up?"

"P.J.!" Gabe cried out. "You're OK. You're awake and everything."

"Yeah, I'm awake and in a private room now. I'm hoping they'll let me come home soon." P.J. swallowed hard in an attempt to quench his dry throat.

"You sound funny." Gabe said.

"My throat's sore." P.J. replied, not wanting to go into great detail, just yet, with his little brother. "Hey, is Teddy around?"

"Teddy!" Gabe called out. "P.J.'s on the phone an wants to talk to you."

Amy noticed how tired her oldest child was beginning to look. "Honey . . ." She started.

P.J. knew the look his mother was giving him. "I have to talk to her." He emphasized the 'I'. "It won't help coming from any of you. I need to talk to her." He repeated.

"P.J.?" Teddy questioned as she took the phone from Gabe. "How are you?"

P.J. smiled at the concern in his sister's voice. "I'm good. I'm out of ICU and in a private room now. Hey did you send Ivy over here to check up on me?" He asked.

"Ivy's there, at the hospital?" Teddy asked.

"Yep. She said you were upset." P.J. paused and waited for Teddy to reply. When she didn't, he continued. "Teddy, you do know that the wreck wasn't your fault, right?"

Tears quietly slipped down Teddy's face as she replayed, in her mind, the events leading up to their car wreck. "P.J., I didn't have to go to the mall. I wanted to because a lot of my friends were supposed to be there, but most of them didn't even show up because of the weather. I'm the reason you were on the road in the first place."

"Not entirely. I had to work after school, remember? And I was supposed to have had a gig that night, too." P.J. replied.

Teddy wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, but . . . P.J., I was so mean to you."

P.J. smiled. "You're always mean to me and I'm always mean to you, that's how its supposed to be, isn't it?"

"I wish you were here so I could punch your arm." She laughed. "Your good arm, that is."

P.J. laughed a bit too. "Me too." He paused. "Hey Teddy,"

"Yeah." Teddy replied.

"I know I don't say it much, but you know I love you." P.J. said quietly.

Teddy nodded. "I love you too, big brother. Get well soon."

P.J. hung up the phone and smiled at Ivy. "OK, your girl is good now." He yawned.

Ivy smiled at him. "Thank you, P.J. That was a real nice thing." She patted his leg. "You're tired, so I'm going. Take care and come home soon, OK?"

"That's the plan." P.J. said through another yawn.

"Ya'll better let him get some sleep." Ivy said sternly as she left the room.

Dr. Allen came in as Ivy left. "Hello." She announced. "How are you feeling, P.J.?"

"A little tired." He replied.

Dr. Allen smiled. "Well, I'll make this quick, so you can get some rest. Your blood tests came back great. Your white count is exactly where it should be, so the infection is gone. I'm going to keep you on the antibiotics for another week and we'll re-evaluate when you come back for your check up." She marked a few things on his chart. "I see no reason to keep you more than one more night, P.J. If you're up for a ride, I'm going to go ahead and sign your release papers and your mom and dad can take you home in the morning."

P.J.'s face lit up. "Really, even though I just got out of ICU?"

"You were only in ICU to get your breathing regulated and bring your fever down." Dr. Allen reminded him. "We have that now, so you're good to go."

"Why not today then?" P.J. asked, hopefully.

Dr. Allen shook her head. "Don't push it, young man. You'll stay here tonight just to make sure you're rested enough to travel home."

P.J. yawned again. "OK."

"Thank you, Dr. Allen." Amy said as the doctor left the room.

"Are you guys going to stay though the night?" P.J. asked and yawned again as someone knocked on the door. Amy looked at Bob.

"Do you want us to?" Bob asked.

"Hey." Emmitt said as he came into P.J. hospital room.

"Hey, Emmitt." P.J. replied.

Emmitt gave P.J. a couple of magazines. "I can't stay. My mom is here visiting a friend and I tagged along to see you." He looked his best friend over. "You look rough, man." P.J. smiled and yawned again. Before he could reply, Emmitt spoke again. "And sleepy. I'm keeping you awake. I should go."

"Emmitt." P.J. started. "Wait a minute."

Emmitt faced his friend again. "Sorry. Hospitals make me nervous. They always have. My mom said when I was born, I twitched the whole time I was here. They thought something was wrong with me. Turns out, I just hate hospitals."

P.J. nodded. "Yeah, they're not my favorite place either."

"I'm glad you're out of Intensive Care. What happened?" Emmitt took a seat close to P.J. and Amy and Bob took that as their cue to leave.

"P.J., we're going to step out for a few minutes. Emmitt, he does need his rest, so you may want to keep your visit short, OK?" Amy suggested.

"I will Mrs. Duncan." Emmitt replied.

"So . . .?" Emmitt asked.

P.J. slightly shook his head. "I don't know where to start."

"Well, I know about the wreck. I talked to Ivy earlier." Emmitt said.

"Well, first I had a reaction to the meds they had me on, while here in the hospital and that messed with my blood pressure and heart rate. They finally got that taken care of and sent me home, but I developed a nasty infection and ended up here again, except this time in ICU with a tube down my throat to help me breathe."

"So, you have pneumonia?" Emmitt asked, worriedly.

"No, just a little lung infection." P.J. answered. "Dr. Allen said it's pretty much gone now." P.J. yawned again.

"Well, hey, bro, I guess I'd better get going. You need some sleep and mom's going to be looking for me." Emmitt said, taking P.J.'s hand. "Heal fast, man."

P.J. nodded, gripping Emmitt's hand. "I'm tryin', bro. I should be home by tomorrow, just call before you stop by though, OK?"

Emmitt nodded. "No problem. I'll see you sometime tomorrow, then." He turned to leave. "Get some rest."

The following morning:

P.J. had been up for an hour before his parents arrived. He had already packed up what few belongings he had with him and was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a loose fitting shirt that allowed room for his cast.

"P.J." Nurse Emily announced as she entered his room. "How long have you been up?"

P.J. looked at the clock. "About an hour, I guess."

"And you got up by yourself?" She asked.

P.J. nodded. "Yep and I've managed to wash my face and comb my hair too."

"You walked?" Emily asked.

P.J. looked at her sheepishly. "I used the wheelchair, but I did have to stand up a couple of times, so . . ."

Nurse Emily shook her head. "Well, lets get you back in the bed, so I can check your stitches to make sure you didn't pull anything." She started to help but, but he waved her off.

"I got out of bed, I can get back in." He insisted.

Emily smiled. "OK." She watched as he pulled himself up, turned, and positioned himself on the bed. "I guess you want me to lie down now, too."

Emily nodded. "I have to change your bandages, so yes, lying down would be helpful." Emily proceeded to cut away the bandage on P.J.'s leg. "Do you feel OK this morning? You seem a little . . . out of sorts."

P.J. knew he had been a little short with Emily. He hadn't meant to be, he like her, actually she was his favorite nurse, so he tried to explain. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about going home this time."

Emily continued removing the bandage. "Why?"

"I really scared my little brother the last time I was home and he treated me differently too, before the fever and . . . then there's Charlie, she's too little to really know what's going on, but she knows something is different. I can't play with her like I usually do . . . and then there's Teddy. Teddy blames herself for the accident and I don't' think I've really gotten through to her yet that this is not her fault."

Emily cleaned the cut on P.J.'s leg without as much as a flinch from him. "This is healing nicely. I don't think you're going to have much of a scar."

P.J. smiled. "That's good. Now if I could just get rid of this cast . . ."

Emily smiled. "I'm afraid you have a good five weeks or so left in that cast."

"I know." P.J. nodded. "Emily, how about the cut on my head and the bruising?"

"P.J., was this morning the first time you've really taken stock of your injuries?" Emily asked.

P.J. pursed his lips and nodded. "I guess so, alone anyway, and I'm sure not going to ask questions with mom and dad around. They're worried enough without knowing that I'm worried too."

Emily sat on the edge of the bed after she finished applying a fresh bandage. "P.J., honestly, you're healing nicely and now that your body isn't fighting the meds, you're moving forward, but honey, you need to talk to someone about what you're feeling." She looked at the seventeen year old, sizing up his fears. "How about the accident? Are you still having nightmares?"

P.J. nodded. "Not as bad, but yeah."

"Have you mentioned any of this to Dr. Allen?" Emily asked.

P.J. shook his head and grabbed Emily's arm. "No, and please don't you say anything either. It'll get back to my mom and . . ."

Emily realized she had upset her young patient. "Easy, P.J. I won't say anything to Dr. Allen if you'll promise me that if you aren't more at ease by your next check up, you'll say something."

P.J. nodded. "I promise." He paused and looked at Emily. "Hey Emily, what about the bruising on top of my legs and across my chest?" P.J. asked, quickly changing the subject.

Emily flipped through P.J.'s chart. "Dr. Allen has a couple of notes here, but says that you're doing well. The bruises will take time to heal. You do know that when you get home, there are a few things you're not going to be able to jump back into doing, like no TV and no video games."

"Why?" P.J. asked.

"You have a concussion. Your brain is bruised and it can't process things like TV and video games." Emily answered.

"Oh." P.J. replied and hung his head. "I look like a walking bruise, and speaking of walking, when will I be able to do that normally again?" P.J. asked.

"You have to give your body time to heal, P.J. That cut on your leg is still tender and so are the bruises on your legs and your chest, all of that will affect the way you carry yourself when you walk, and the cast on your arm plays a part in that too." She lifted his chin with her index finger. "Be patient, P.J. and remember to take it easy." She turned to leave the room and was met by Bob and Amy.

Emily smiled as she opened the door wide. "He's all ready to leave."

Amy made her way to her son and touched his arm. "He looks tired. P.J., are you feeling OK?"

P.J. nodded. "I'm fine, mom. I'm more than ready to leave." He picked up the paperwork and started to pull himself off of the bed.

"Paul James Duncan, what do you think you're doing? Wait, here, let me help you." He looked up to Emily for support.

"Amy, he's been up by himself for a good part of the morning. He needs to use his muscles." Emily reminded.

"But he's in pain. I can tell." Amy defended.

Emily gently touched Amy's arm. "What would you tell any of your own patients at this point?"

Amy paused, looking from Emily to P.J. "I would tell them to suck it up and work through the pain."

Emily nodded. "You're going to have to do the same thing with your son. It's for his own good. He needs to do some of this on his own."

"You're right, Emily." Amy inhaled deeply and turned to her son. " P.J., you let me know if you need help though, OK?"

P. J. smiled. "I will." He then lifted off of the bed and expertly positioned himself into his wheelchair. "There. All ready to go."

Bob stood behind the wheelchair and pushed P.J. out, followed closely by Amy and Nurse Emily.

"You be good, P.J." Emily called out as they headed towards the elevator.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 1****5**

"**Homecoming . . . Again****"**

The three younger Duncan's were anxiously waiting for their older brother to arrive. Gabe sat in the chair downstairs, playing a video game while Teddy played with Charlie.

"Hey, look who's home!" Bob announced as he unlocked and opened the back door and pushed P.J. inside.

"P.J.!" Gabe made a beeline for his brother. P.J. met him with open arms.

"Hey Gabe! What's up?" P.J. asked.

Gabe smiled. "I just beat your score on . . ."

"No way, you're playing that without me?" P.J. asked. "I challenge you to a game, later, OK?"

"OK, you're on." Gabe answered.

Amy and Bob were adjusting P.J.'s belongings in his makeshift, downstairs bedroom. Once finished, Amy took Charlie from Teddy. "OK, we're heading upstairs now." Amy announced. "Do you guys need anything?"

Gabe, nor Teddy answered. "Nope, I'm good." P.J. replied.

"OK, we're just upstairs if you need us." Bob repeated and headed upstairs with Amy and Charlie.

"Do you feel like playing this game now?" Gabe asked.

P.J. took the controller. "You bet."

Teddy rolled her eyes as she watched her brothers. "OK, you two. I'm in my room if you need me."

Both Gabe and P.J. were so involved in their video game, they didn't even hear her.

An hour later, P.J. started to squint his eyes as he played. Then he started to hold them closed for longer and longer periods of time. "P.J., are you OK?" Gabe asked, noticing his brother's actions.

P.J. squeezed his eyes closed again and shook his head, dropping the controller in the process. "Head hurts." He blinked several times in succession.

Gabe leaped out of the chair and ran to Teddy's door. "Teddy!" He knocked loudly. "Something's going on with P.J."

Teddy was out of her bed and to the door in an instant. "P.J.?" She questioned as she let her older brother lean his head on her shoulder. "Gabe, go get mom!"

Gabe quickly ran upstairs and told Amy what was going on. "Gabe, was he playing a video game or watching TV?"

"Yeah, we were playing a video game." Gabe answered honestly.

Amy hurried down the steps to find P.J. with his head resting on Teddy's shoulder. "P.J., honey are you awake?" He groggily lifted his head.

"My head hurts." P.J. confessed.

Amy lifted his head from Teddy's shoulder and nudged her daughter out of the way. "P.J., did Nurse Emily tell you about not watching TV or playing video games for a few days?"

"I don't know, why?" P.J. answered.

"Honey, you have a concussion. You can't watch TV right now and video games are most definitely off limits." Amy answered. "Your brain is bruised and it can't handle much right now."

Gabe sulked into the chair. "I hurt him . . . again. I wanted him to play with me."

Teddy squatted next to her younger brother. "Gabe, he has a headache, but he's going to be OK. He just needs to sleep it off, right mom?"

"Right." She helped P.J. into bed and put a cool cloth over his eyes. "There, that should help."

"Thanks, mom." P.J. answered in a slightly pitiful voice.

"You're welcome, honey. P.J., Emily did tell you about not watching TV or playing video games, didn't she?" Amy asked as she adjusted P.J.'s pillows.

P.J. slowly nodded. "I guess I was just excited to see Gabe and I wanted to do something he would enjoy. I didn't even think about it."

"I can't give you any more meds right now, but I will turn the lights down and if you'll close your eyes, you might just drift off to sleep." Amy said as she stroked his hair. "P.J., you have to be a little more responsible."

"OK." P.J. said quietly and closed his eyes. He was asleep within minutes.

Amy turned her attention to Teddy and Gabe. "OK, just a few ground rules." She placed her hand on Gabe's shoulder. "I know you didn't know that video games and TV aren't a good idea for him right now. I'm not upset with you, but I do need for you to take the games upstairs and unplug the TV down here."

"For how long?" Gabe asked.

"At least the rest of the week, Gabe." Amy watched her youngest son's face drop. "Honey, he needs to rest. That's the best thing for him right now."

Gabe nodded and dropped his head. "I know. I just . . . I miss him."

Amy nodded knowingly. "I miss him too, Gabe. That's another reason we need to do everything we can to get him well."

"I didn't mean to hurt him, honest." Gabe said innocently.

Amy hugged him close. "I know you didn't, sweetheart."

"Hey Gabe, if you'd like, I'll play a game with you." Teddy offered.

"Ah, not so fast. That's probably not the best idea for you either. Even though you don't have a concussion, you did hit your head pretty hard and you're also taking pain meds." Amy explained.

"Oh . . . sorry Gabe." Teddy apologized.

"It's OK." Gabe said quietly and took his video game system upstairs. Before he reached the top step, Amy called out to him. "Gabe, ask your dad to play with you."

Gabe bypassed the living room, where his dad sat reading the paper and took his game system to his room. He laid across his bed and fell asleep.

Later Amy passed through the living room. "Bob," Amy nudged her sleeping husband. "Where's Gabe?"

"What?" Bob woke with a start.

"Where is Gabe?" Amy asked again. "I thought he was going to get you play a game with him."

Bob stretched. "I haven't seen him, but he must be upstairs. How's P.J.?"

Amy smiled slightly. "He's sleeping. That's why Gabe came up here. The two of them were playing a video game and P.J. sort of passed out on him."

Bob's mouth dropped. "He passed out. Is he OK?"

Amy nodded. "He's fine. He's just not supposed to play video games or watch TV for awhile and Teddy shouldn't be either. She may not have a concussion, but she still hit her head pretty hard and they're both on pretty strong pain meds."

Bob laid the paper aside and patted the couch for Amy to sit down. She dropped onto the couch. "How is Teddy, really? I mean she always been able to put up a front when she doesn't feel good. How is she now?"

Amy shook her head. "I honestly don't know. She looks good, her color is back and she's always smiling, but like you said, I've never been able to read Teddy the way I can the boys."

Back downstairs, P.J. woke to the sound of crying. He lifted his head from the bed and once the room stopped spinning, he pulled himself up and stood, testing his left leg. He hobbled to Teddy's door and gently knocked, it opened and he found his sister curled up on her bed, crying. "Teddy?"

She lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "P.J., what are you doing in here?" She asked quietly.

"I uh, I woke up and heard you crying . . . Teddy, are you OK?"

She nodded and tried her best to stop the tears. P.J. hobbled closer to her bed and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk or something?"

She smiled a genuine smile. "I wouldn't know where to begin and you don't really want to listen to me anyway." She looked at him and shifted a couple of books from the edge of the bed. "Here, sit down before you fall down."

P.J. sat on the edge of his sister's bed and stared at her for a minute. "Do you really think I don't care about you or what's going on with you?" He asked.

Teddy shrugged her shoulders.

P.J. put his right arm around her shoulder. "Teddy, you're my little sister and I love you. It matters to me what happens to you." He paused to let that sink in. "When we rounded that curve and I saw that 18-wheeler coming straight at us, my first thought was how to get you out of the car before it hit."

Teddy lifted her head. "By the time I realized what was happening, you had already slammed the car into reverse and floored it." She laughed a slight laugh. "I only remember thinking how incredible that was. How did you ever think to do that, anyway?"

P.J. shrugged his right shoulder. "I don't know. At any rate, it wasn't enough." He dropped his head. "I guess one more example of how irresponsible I am."

Amy and Bob had both descended the stairs to check on P.J. and Teddy and heard their voices coming from Teddy's room. They paused to listen as their two oldest children talked about the wreck that could have killed them.

"You're not irresponsible." Teddy said, hitting him lightly with a pillow. She paused. "You know, I woke up before you." Teddy said. "Everything was so quiet, I remember wondering if . . . well, if I were still alive, and then I heard the rhythmic clicking of the turn signal. I could see you, but I couldn't reach you." She felt tears sting her eyes. "You didn't move when I called out to you and I couldn't move without undoing the seatbelt."

P.J. looked at Teddy. "You must have tried to move though, because when I woke up, you were unconscious. I remember trying to call out to you, but . . . the pain in my side felt like a knife stabbing me each time I tried to breathe."

Amy's hand flew up to her mouth as she listened to P.J. describe his pain.

"You made me get out." Teddy said in a hushed whisper.

P.J. nodded. "I had to. Teddy, I didn't know if I was going to make it or not and . . . I really didn't want your last memory of me to be watching me die." He said quietly.

"You said I had to get help." She reminded him.

"I had to say something that would get you out of the car, or at least get you to try to get out of the car, besides, it was true. If you hadn't gotten out and called 9-1-1, I would have . . . I would have died." He dropped his head. "So, you're the hero here, Teddy. You saved my life."

She shook her head. "You're the only hero here, P.J. If you hadn't thought and acted so quickly when the truck was coming towards us, we'd both be . . . well, you know . . . dead."

Amy felt faint listening to the description of the accident, but at the same time she was so proud that each had put the other before themselves.

"P.J., what was it like when they were trying to get you out?" Teddy asked. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but I could hear everything through John's walkie-talkie, but I couldn't see anything."

"Who's John?" P.J. asked.

"John was the EMT that took care of my arm and head while the others were down the embankment with you." Teddy explained.

"Oh." He replied. "Teddy, I really don't remember a lot. I mean, I know dad was there. I could hear him, but I couldn't call out to him and I couldn't open my eyes. I remember that because it really scared me."

Teddy took her brother's hand. "What else do you remember?"

"I couldn't breathe. There was someone there with me, I guess one of the EMTs, but I couldn't breathe. Then, I heard dad's voice and I guess it calmed me down a little. I'm a little fuzzy on what happened next, but I remember feeling the worst pain in my leg that I've ever felt anywhere and then nothing."

Teddy's head dropped and tears fell from her cheeks. P.J. lifted her chin. "Hey, I know you're not wasting tears on me." He smiled.

"One of the EMT's drove me and dad to the hospital. The pain you felt in your leg . . . the dashboard was pinning you down to the seat and cutting off the blood supply to your leg. When they lifted the dash, with the 'Jaws of Life' I might add, it restored the blood flow, but you had a deep cut on your left leg, it nicked the femoral artery and I remember hearing one of the EMT's calling for a tourniquet and saying you were going to be very lucky if you didn't . . . if you didn't bleed out before you made it to the hospital." She finished softly.

"I know you and dad must have been scared to death." P.J. said quietly.

Teddy nodded. "Dad called the hospital to let mom know what was going on so she wouldn't be a total basket case when they brought you in. The EMTs had already called ahead and requested a surgical team on standby, so when dad called, mom put two and two together and realized it was you they were bringing in."

The color drained from P.J.'s face. "I can't imagine how she must have felt."

"You were in surgery for a little over three hours." Teddy squeezed her brother's hand. "P.J., I thought we were going to lose you." He leaned over and wiped the tears from his sister's eyes.

"I'm so sorry I scared everyone so much, but Teddy, you're not still blaming yourself are you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Everytime I see you in that wheelchair, it's just a reminder and . . ."

"Teddy, I'm not going to be in that chair forever, see, I'm not in it now." P.J. interrupted. "Besides, I kinda like my new set of wheels. I'm learning how to pop wheelies on it and . . ."

Teddy laughed. "You'd better not let mom and dad catch you doing that."

P.J. smiled back at her. "Get some sleep, sis."

He turned to go back out, but Teddy called out to him. "Can you stay in here . . . just until I fall asleep?"

P.J. smiled and pulled her blanket over her. "Sure."

Bob nudged Amy and watched as she wiped the tears from her face. He pointed towards the steps. "I'll go back down in a few minutes and check on them."

Amy dropped to the couch, staring straight ahead. "I knew it was bad, but . . ."

Bob dropped on the couch beside her and pulled her close to him. "It was bad, Amy. I never want to go through anything like that with any of you again."

They stayed that way for several minutes before Amy pulled away. "Do you think P.J. believes we think he's irresponsible?" She asked.

"Sometimes he is." Bob replied.

Amy shook her head. "Bob, he's seventeen. How responsible were you at seventeen?"

Bob put his arm back around his wife. "Sometimes I think we expect a little too much out of P.J., and Teddy for that matter. She's only sixteen and we have her watching Gabe and Charlie most every day and P.J., he's seventeen and I really want him to do something with his life. He only has one more year of high school, Amy and he seems so uninterested in college or a career, or . . ."

Amy put her finger to Bob's lips. "He's only seventeen, Bob. What were you doing at seventeen?"

Bob thought back to his teenage years. "Playing in a band, dating, and hanging out with my friends." He answered.

"So, in other words, P.J. isn't all that different from you, right? And you turned out pretty good." She nudged him.

Bob nodded and smiled. "I guess you're right. Besides, after this week, I don't want to push any of the kids into something. I'm enjoying having all four of them right here under our roof."

"Amen to that." Amy replied and snuggled up against Bob.

An hour later, Bob stepped downstairs to find P.J. lying across the end of Teddy's bed, Teddy asleep beside of him, her head resting on his shoulder. Bob smiled. "Now that's a picture."

He didn't have the heart to wake them, so he headed back upstairs.

"Are they OK?" Amy asked.

Bob nodded. "They're fine. They're both asleep."

"Good." Amy replied. "I checked on Gabe and Charlie, he's actually playing with her in her room."

Bob's eyebrows shot up. "Gabe is playing with Charlie?"

"I know, right?"

"P.J. fell asleep at the foot of Teddy's bed, and she fell asleep on his shoulder." Bob confessed.

Amy's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"I know, right?" Bob answered.

"Well, maybe something good can come out of this after all." Amy stated. "I know all four of them love each other, but maybe they are learning to appreciate each other too."

Later in the evening, P.J. and Gabe were thumb wrestling while Teddy was playing with Charlie. "I'll be back in a minute, Gabe." P.J. announced and hobbled towards the bathroom.

Teddy didn't notice that he had gotten up and took Charlie in her arms. "Hey Charlie, do you want to help me get ready for my date?"

"Make up." Charlie shouted and clapped her hands.

Teddy raised her eyebrows. "That's right. I need to put on my make up and fix my hair." She started to open the bathroom door and realized it was locked.

"OK, who's in MY bathroom?" She yelled.

"I'll be out in a minute." P.J. called back.

"P.J., I need to get ready for my date." Teddy yelled.

P.J. washed his hands and opened the door, throwing the towel at Teddy. "I'd wait a few minutes if I were you." He laughed.

"Ewww." Teddy scowled. "P.J.!" she yelled, grabbing the Lysol, and then called out, "Mom!"

Upstairs, Bob silently picked up the newspaper and began ready while Amy rolled her eyes. "Well, looks like things are back to normal in the Duncan household." She said quietly.

After finishing getting ready, Teddy picked up her video camera. "Hey, Charlie. I'm sorry I haven't recorded in a while, but we've had a lot going on." She panned the camera to show P.J. "P.J. and I were in a car wreck. We're fine and we'll tell you all about it someday. Charlie, I know we girls need to stick together, but always remember you have two great older brothers that, even though they may get on your nerves sometimes, they're both pretty terrific guys and if you ever need to talk to either of them, I'm sure they'll be great listeners . . . right guys?" She called out, only to realize that both P.J. and Gabe had fallen asleep. She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, good luck Charlie."

THE END


End file.
